CONVERSATIONS 



ON 

RELIGIOUS SUBJECTS, 

BETWEEN 

A FATHER AND HIS TWO SONS, 






BY SAMUEL M^JANNEY. 



THIRD EDITION, ENLARGED. 



PHILADELPHIA: 
PRINTED BY JOHN RICHARDS, 

JVb. 130 JV*. Third Street. 

X843. 



3^ 




PREFACE. 



The following Essays are offered to the public with a 
hope that they may receive a candid perusal from inquiring 
minds, and that they may, under the Divine blessing, lead 
some to examine with attention the important doctrines of 
which they treat, and to build their houses, not upon the 
sandy foundation of traditional belief, but upon the rock of 
immediate revelation; for on this rock only, the true church 
of Christ has ever been established. 

The colloquial style has been chosen, in order to render 
the work more interesting to the young; and as affording a 
better opportunity of stating the objections that are gene- 
rally advanced against the views here advocated. 

The Author has endeavoured to state fairly the argu- 
ments of those who differ from him in opinion, and espe- 
cially to bring into view those passages of scripture on 
which they have most relied ; for he believes that these 
sacred records are, under Divine influence, of inestimable 
value in giving us a knowledge of Christian doctrines. It 
is, however, the principal aim of this work, to show that 
the kingdom of Christ is a spiritual kingdom; and that 
wherever it is established in the heart, it ascribes "glory to 
God in the highest," and promotes " peace on earth, and 
good-will to men." 

Occoquan, Va. 2d mo. 24th, 1835. 



CONTENTS. 



CONVERSATION I. 
On Repentance and Conversion, - - 5 

CONVERSATION II. 

On Divine Worship, - - - - 29 

CONVERSATION III. 

On the Original and Present State of Man, 69 

CONVERSATION IV. 

On the Divine Being, 98 

CONVERSATION V. 
On Salvation by Christ, - 137 

CONVERSATION VI. T 5 

On Baptism and the Lord's Supper, - 168 



CONVERSATIONS, &c. 



CONVERSATION I. 



ON REPENTANCE AND CONVERSION. 

James. I feel desirous of information respect- 
ing some of the principal doctrines of Christiani- 
ty ; — for the great variety of opinions which pre- 
vails among the professors of religion, and the 
bitterness which some of them appear to feel to- 
wards others, have had a tendency to weaken my 
faith, and I have no doubt they have produced 
discouragement in the minds of many others. 

Father. It must be acknowledged that a great 
diversity of opinion does exist upon many points 
of doctrine ; but this should not weaken our faith 
in the reality of vital religion; for a great variety 
of opinions may be found among men in most de- 
partments of knowledge. The greatest philoso- 
phers have often been mistaken by founding their 
systems upon speculations and conjectures, in- 
stead of watching the operations of Nature, and 
2 



reasoning from facts. And it is in this way that 
many professors of religion continue to err, by 
attaching too much importance to the conjectures 
they have formed about religion, and by attending 
too little to the operation of the Spirit of Truth 
in their own minds ; by obedience to which they 
might become experimentally acquainted with 
vital religion, and " renewed in knowledge after 
the image of Him that created them." Notwith- 
standing the great variety of doctrines among the 
professors of Christianity, I could easily prove to 
you from pious and experienced writers of every 
sect that I am acquainted with, that they all agree 
in regarding true religion as a work of the heart 
rather than of the head ; and the experience of all 
ages proves that "the grace of God which bring- 
eth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching 
us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, 
we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in 
this present world." The operation of this Divine 
Power, when it is submitted to, brings about in 
our minds the great change, which begins with 
repentance for our past sins, and ends in conver- 
sion or regeneration. 

John. These are subjects on which I wish for 
information, for I have lately thought much about 
them, and I trust my heart has been in some mea- 
sure weaned from the world, and engaged in the 



•pursuit of that inheritance, incorruptible and un- 
dented, that fadeth not away. 

Father. I am rejoiced to hear that the Lord 
has been so gracious to thee, my son, and that be 
is calling thee out of darkness into his marvellous 
light. He has, I trust, granted thee "repentance 
unto life," which is the first step in the path of 
righteousness. Like the passage of the children 
t)f Israel through the Red Sea, the baptism of re- 
pentance separates us from the land of Egypt, 
saves us from a host of our enemies, and fills the 
soul with joy, so that we can sing the song of 
Moses, and " make melody in our hearts unto the 
Lord." But the Israelites, after their first deliver- 
ance and rejoicing, had a great many trials to en- 
counter, and a long journey to perform through 
the wilderness, until that crooked and perverse 
generation which was born in Egypt, was wasted 
away or consumed ; and then there was a captain 
raised up in the midst of them, who led the new 
generation through Jordan (the river of judgment) 
into the promised land. The work of repentance 
was also typified by the watery baptism of John ; 
but true saving baptism is " not the putting away 
of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good 
conscience towards God." 1 Peter iii. 21. And 
this saving baptism is administered by the Holy 
Spirit, which comes into the heart, and purifies 



8 

•or " sprinkles it from an evil conscience." Re- 
pentance is the gift of God,— and it is offered to 
the acceptance of all men ; for all are visited with 
seasons of calm reflection and serious though tful- 
ness, when their sins are " set in order before 
them," and all the pleasures of sense and the 
riches of this world seem " as nothing and vani- 
ty," compared with that peace of mind which 
they have lost while pursuing after shadows. — 
This state of mind is sometimes experienced by 
those who are the most eager in pursuit of plea- 
sure and worldly glory ; but they too generally 
put it from them, and fly to amusements or busi- 
ness to drive it away. Yet this very thing which 
is so much shunned, is nothing less than a visita- 
tion of Divine Love, which, if yielded to, would 
lead to eternal salvation. It is indeed the voice 
of Christ, who says, " Behold, I stand at the door 
and knock ; if any man hear my voice, and open 
the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with 
him, and he with me." Rev. iii. 20. 

Those who yield obedience to this heavenly 
vision, not consulting with flesh and blood, will 
experience the baptism of repentance to take place 
in their souls, for " godly sorrow worketh repent- 
ance to salvation;" and the only sure evidence of 
sincere repentance, is bringing forth fruits " meet 
for repentance." 



James. Does not repentance often take place 
without any fruits? It appears to me that I have 
been sinning and repenting for many years, with- 
out much, if any amendment. 

Father. There is a spurious kind of repent- 
ance that hardly deserves the name ;— it does not 
proceed from a true sense and haired of sin, but 
from a dread of punishment, which induces men 
very often to feel a transient regret for what they 
have done, and to take up resolutions to do better 
in future ; but these resolutions, when made in 
man's own strength, and with a reliance upon his 
own arm for their execution, will not stand in the 
hour of temptation ; the first gust of passion will 
blow them away. True repentance implies not 
only a godly sorrow for sin, but a turning away 
from it. It implies a returning again to Him from 
whom the soul has revolted. " Repent," says the 
prophet, "and turn yourselves from all your trans- 
gressions : so iniquity shall not be your ruin." — 
Ezekiel xix. 36. 

John. I have no doubt that true repentance is 
a work of the divine Spirit in the soul, and that it 
is accompanied by forgiveness of sins through the 
mercy of God. But I have been led to believe 
that the joy and peace which I have found spring- 
ing up and abounding in my heart, was an evi- 
2* 



10 

dence not only of forgiveness, but of conversion 
and regeneration. 

Father. The term conversion is often used as 
equivalent to regeneration, and then it signifies a 
change of heart from a state of sin to a state of 
holiness, — a putting off the old man with his 
deeds, and putting on the new man, which is re- 
newed in knowledge " after the image of Him 
that created him." It was used in this sense by- 
Jesus himself when speaking to Peter, just be- 
fore he was delivered up : " Simon," said he, 
" satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift 
you as wheat : but I have prayed for thee, that 
thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, 
strengthen thy brethren." Luke xxii. 31, 32. 

John. It appears from this passage, that Peter 
had not yet been converted; and it becomes an in- 
teresting inquiry for us all to know what was then 
the state of his experience, and how far a man 
may progress in religion without being thorough- 
ly converted. 

Father. Yes, it is a very interesting subject for 
inquiry, — and there are a number of passages in 
the New Testament that will throw some light 
upon it. It appears that Peter, long before this, 
had forsaken all, in order to follow Christ. He 
had been one of his disciples nearly three years. 



11 

He had listened to his preaching and conversa- 
tion, and beheld his miracles and holy example. 
He had himself been sent forth to preach, saying, 
"The kingdom of heaven is at hand," and he had 
been entrusted with the power of healing the sick 
and casting out devils. He had also been with his 
divine master in the hour of prayer, and stood by 
him on the mount of transfiguration, when "his 
face did shine as the sun, and his garment was 
white as the light," and "there came a voice from 
the excellent glory, saying, This is my beloved 
Son, hear ye him." Nor was Simon's experience 
altogether of an outward character ; for when he 
confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the son of the 
living God, his master replied, " Blessed art thou, 
Simon Bar-jona; for flesh and blood hath not re- 
vealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in 
heaven." Yet it appears that notwithstanding all 
his precious opportunities, and his ardent love for 
Christ, Peter had not yet been thoroughly con- 
verted. 

John. I am almost ready to say, this is hard 
doctrine, who can bear it ; for if Peter, after all 
this experience, had not been converted, how can 
one so young and weak as I, hope to attain that 
blessed state. 

Father. Be not discouraged, my son. He who 
hath begun a good work in thee, is able and will- 



ing to carry it on and complete it. All he requires 
on thy part is, watchfulness to know his will, 
obedience to follow it, and patience to endure his 
righteous judgments. Every victory over sin, and 
every escape from temptation, is accompanied by 
an immediate reward of "joy in the holy spirit;" 
for he " feeds his flock like a shepherd, he gathers 
the lambs with his arm and carries them in his 
L bosom." 

Conversion does not depend upon the abun- 
dance of our knowledge, but upon the subjection 
of our wills to the Divine government. This 
brings us into a teachable, humble, childlike 
state; — for "except ye be converted, and become 
as little children, ye shall not enter into the 
kingdom of heaven. 4 " 

John. Is there any evidence in the scriptures 
that Peter was not in this state, except the pas- 
sage alluded to ? 

Father. Yes; there are several circumstances 
related of him, which show that he was still gov- 
erned by his own will, and had not been " trans- 
formed by the renewing of his mind;"-— for in- 
stance, when his master said to him, " Whither I 
go, thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt 
follow me afterwards," — Peter answered with 
much confidence, "Lord, why cannot I follow 



13 

thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake." 
But it appears that his confidence in himself was 
entirely misplaced, for when the hour of trial 
came, he not only denied his master thrice, but 
"he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know 
not this man of whom ye speak." Mark xiv. 71. 

John. Perhaps this instance of humiliating 
weakness came upon him in consequence of his 
having so much confidence in himself, that he did 
not continue in watchfulness and prayer. 

Father. Yes, there is no doubt of it, — and 
there is no safety for the most experienced Chris- 
tian, but in a state of continual reliance upon Di- 
vine aid, which is always afforded when rightly 
sought for. "God is faithful," says the apostle, 
" and will not suffer you to be tempted above that 
ye are able, but will with the temptation also make 
a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 
1 Cor. x. 13. 

James. Was there no other part of Peter's con- 
duct that indicated the state of his mind ? 

Father. Yes, there was. It appears that when 
Jesus began "to show unto his disciples, how 
that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many 
things of the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, 
and be killed, and be raised again the third day; 



14 

then Peter took him and began to rebuke him, 
•saying, Be it far from thee, Lord; this shall not 
he unto thee. But he turned and said unto Peter, 
Get thee behind me, satan; thou art an offence 
unto me, for thou savourest not the things that be 
of God, but those that be of men." Matt. xvi. 
21-23. This conduct of Peter arose from his not 
understanding the nature of Christ's kingdom; 
which can only be understood by coming under 
the government of the spirit of Christ. When 
Jesus "was demanded of the Pharisees, when the 
Ttingdom of God should come, he answered them 
and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with 
observation. Neither shall they say, Lo here! 
or lo there ! for behold, the kingdom of God is 
within you. 11 Luke xvii. 20, 21. But although 
Peter had experienced the baptism of repentance, 
which was typified by the watery baptism of 
John, he had not yet been introduced into the 
spiritual kingdom of Christ; for "the least in the 
kingdom of heaven is greater than John." Not- 
withstanding he had heard this doctrine preached, 
and seen it exemplified in the meek, non-resisting 
oxample of the Saviour, his mind was still veiled 
by the prejudices of education, and he expected 
the Messiah to reign as a temporal prince, to sub- 
due their outward enemies, instead of waiting in 
prayer that his power might be revealed in them, 



15 

to subdue their spiritual enemies. It was there*- 
fore expedient for them that he should go away,, 
in order that the " Comforter, which is the spirit 
of Truth, might come and lead them into all 
truth." This Comforter is the manifestation of the 
same Divine life and light which dwelt in him; 
for "in him was life; and the life was the light 
of men: that is the true Light which lighteth every 
man that cometh into the world." John i. 4-9. 

John* And did not Peter show that the natural 
man was still prevalent in him, when he took a 
sword and smote off the ear of the high priest's* 
servant ? 

Father. I think that was a very strong evidence 
that his heart had not been thoroughly brought 
under Christ's government, for the same spirit 
will always bring forth the same fruit. Now, the 
fruit of the Divine spirit " is love, joy, peace, long 
suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, 
temperance: against such there is no law." Gal* 
v. 22. 

James. I think Peter was very much like the 
professors of Christianity at the present day. He 
had not faith to suffer with Christ, but he was 
willing to fight for him. 

Father. Yes : for he could fight without taking 
up the cross of self-denial. But how different 



16 

was the conduct of the holy Jesus! for he "touch- 
ed the servant's ear and healed it," saying, "Put 
up again thy sword into his place; for all they 
that take the sword shall perish with the sword." 
Matt. xxvi. 52. 

James. Perhaps Peter had mistaken his mas- 
ter's meaning, when he told them a little before, 
"He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment 
and buy one." 

Father. It is very probable he did mistake it, 
as he was not then in a state of mind to under- 
stand spiritual things; — but his mistake was soon 
corrected, for when they said, " Lord, here are 
two swords" he replied, "It is enough;" thereby 
intimating that he did not mean carnal weapons. 

On considering the whole paragraph, in con- 
nexion with the precepts and example of Christ, 
it is plain, that he intended only to warn them 
that a time of deep trial was approaching, when 
they would need the whole of that spiritual arm- 
our which was afterwards described by the apostle 
as the "whole armour of God." "Stand there- 
fore," says he, "having your loins girt about with 
truth, and having on the breast-plate of righteous- 
ness; and your feet shod with the preparation of 
the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield 
of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all 



17 

the fiery darts of the wicked; and take the helmet 
of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which 
is the word of God: praying always with all 
prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watch- 
ing thereunto with all perseverance and supplica- 
tion for all saints." Eph. vi. 13-18. 

These are the weapons of the Christian's war- 
fare, and these were the weapons that Christ him- 
self made use of. He overcame hatred by love, he 
conquered pride by meekness, and he triumphed 
over error by the spirit of Truth. He taught his 
disciples to resist not evil, but " when smitten on 
one cheek to turn the other also." "Love your 
enemies," said he, "bless them that curse you, 
do good unto them that hate you, and pray for 
them that despitefully use you and persecute you." 
"If you love them that love you, what reward 
have you ? do not even the publicans the same ?" 
But " be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven 
is perfect; for he maketh his sun to rise on the 
evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just 
and on the unjust ; and he is kind even to the un- 
thankful and to the evil." These sublime pre- 
cepts of Jesus were exemplified in every act of 
his spotless life, for "when he was reviled he re- 
viled not again, and when he suffered he threatened 
not, but committed himself to him that judgeth 
righteously." 1 Peter ii. 23. "To this end was 
3 



18 

I born," said he, " and for this purpose came I 
into the world, that I should bear witness unto 
the truth." John xviii. 37. These glorious truths 
were taught in his discourses, confirmed by his 
example, and sealed with his blood. "As a sheep 
before his shearers is dumb, so he opened not his 
mouth," but patiently bore all the sufferings that 
their iniquity inflicted upon him; and his faithful- 
ness under sufferings was not only a sacrifice ac- 
ceptable to God, but also an example to us. "For," 
says the apostle, "what glory is it, if when ye be 
buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? 
But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take 
it patiently, this is acceptable with God: for even 
hereunto were ye called; because Christ also suf- 
fered for us, leaving us an example that we should 
follow his steps" 1 Peter ii. 20, 21. 

James. But, father, it seems to me, that if we 
were to follow this example and these precepts, 
we should be very often imposed upon and in- 
jured by the wicked. 

Father. This was the very objection that the 
unbelieving Jews started in that day; for they said, 
"If we let this man thus alone, all men will be- 
lieve on him, and the Romans will come and take 
away our place and nation." So they put him to 
a cruel and ignominious death ; nevertheless the 



19 

Romans did come, and take away their place and 
nation. 

James. I believe most professors of Christian- 
ity expect to act upon peaceable principles, as* 
soon as the state of the world will bear it. When 
the millenium shall come, then will " their swords 
be beaten into ploughshares, and their spears into 
pruning hooks; for nation shall not lift up sword 
against nation, neither shall they learn war any 
more." 

John. Yes; I suppose it will be very easy to re- 
frain from fighting, when there shall be no provo- 
cation offered to us ; but how is such a state of 
things to be brought about? 

Father* The way is very clearly pointed out, — 
it must be by the power of God, manifested in 
the meek example and patient sufferings of the 
faithful. This was the way that Christianity was 
first propagated; and its wonderful progress, dur- 
ing the days of the apostles and primitive martyrs, 
attests the wisdom and power of its divine Author. 
The apostle Peter, of whom we have been speak- 
ing, after that the Holy Spirit with power from 
on high had come upon him and renewed his 
heart, could then follow the meek example and 
holy precepts of Christ; and by preaching with 
boldness, and suffering with patience, even unto 



20 

death, he bore testimony to the truth of the Gos- 
pel, and proved that his heart was then converted 
by the purifying influence of the spirit of Christ. 
Iu those primitive times, the law of love governed 
the lives of the followers of Christ, and influenced 
all their conduct, not only towards one another, 
but towards all mankind: they did not fight against 
their enemies, but prayed for them. And whenever 
primitive Christianity shall prevail in the world, 
it must bear the same fruits of meekness and love; 
for the tree will always be known by its fruits — 
"men do not gather grapes of thorns, nor rigs of 
thistles." 

John. It appears to me that if all who profess 
to be followers of Christ would only walk in his 
footsteps, the world would soon wear a different 
aspect from what it now does. 

James, I do not profess to be a religious man, 
but I can plainly see the great disparity there is 
between the profession and the practice of those 
who are called the followers of Christ; and I have 
at times been almost ready to conclude, that there 
is no genuine religion among them. 

Father. There is no doubt that the cause of 
Truth has sustained more injury from the incon- 
sistency of its professors, than from all the efforts 
of deists and infidels. But we must not charge 



2i 

upon Christianity the faults of those who merely 
profess the name, without becoming obedient to 
the spirit of Christ; for in these is fulfilled the 
prophecy of Isaiah, "In that day shall seven 
women take hold of one man, saying, we will eat 
our own bread and wear our own apparel: only 
let us be called by thy name, to take away our 
reproach." They do not depend upon Christ to 
give them the living bread which comes down 
from heaven, and gives life to the soul; — nor do 
they wait for the water of life, which springs up 
in the obedient, dedicated mind ; — neither do they 
wear the seamless garment of simplicity and truth: 
but they are willing to be called by his excellent 
name, while in their hearts they are "crucifying 
to themselves the Son of God afresh, and putting 
Mm to an open shame." 

John. Would not a continual obedience to the 
teachings of Divine grace in our hearts, lead us 
into conformity with the example of Christ? 

Father. Certainly it would : for that grace is a 
manifestation of the same spirit that was in Christ; 
fJohn i. 4-16) and if we were obedient to it, we 
should be led out of all evil* and from under the 
■bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of 
the sons of God. 
3* 



22 

James, But if this spirit is so very powerful, 
why is it that so few persons understand and 
obey it? 

Father. Because, in its first appearance, the 
seed of the kingdom is so small that it is over- 
looked or trodden down. It is likened to a "grain 
of mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds, 
but when it is grown it is the greatest of herbs, so 
that the fowls of the air lodge in its branches/' 
Those who are looking for great things, and ex* 
traordinary illuminations, will not put their faith 
in this little seed which is sown in every heart; 
and yet, "in it are hidden all the treasures of 
wisdom and knowledge;" for it is that "grace of 
God which bringeth salvation, and hath appeared 
to all men, teaching us, that, denying ungodliness 
and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righ- 
teously, and godly in this present world." Titus 
ii. 11, 12. 

The first appearance of this Divine grace, cr 
monitor in the hearts of transgressors, is in the 
character of a reprover for sin; — and if we will 
be obedient to it, by repenting and turning away 
from our sins, it then becomes known to us as a 
comforter in righteousness: — and if we still con- 
tinue to follow it for our guide, it will become to 
us a "spirit of judgment, and a spirit of burning, 
and will purely purge away our dross, and take 



23 

away our tin: for Zion shall be redeemed with 
judgment, and her converts with righteousness." 
Isaiah iv. 4, and i. 25, 27. 

If any man think to be saved by a profession 
of religion, or an implicit belief in the doctrines 
of Christianity, without experiencing a regenera- 
tion and bringing forth the fruits of the spirit of 
Christ, he is deceiving himself, and building "his 
house upon the sand." It was against such pro- 
fessors that the wo was denounced by the pro- 
phet, — " Wo unto him that buildeth his house by 
unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong, that 
useth his neighbour's service without wages, and 
giveth him not for his work." Jer. xxii. 13. 

John. But does not this strike at the root of in- 
voluntary slavery, which many professors are 
concerned in ; for that appears to me to be "using 
our neighbour'' s service without wages?" 

Father. Certainly it does : for the Jews were 
taught by Jesus, in the parable of the good Sama- 
ritan, to regard all men as their neighbours, — 
even the Samaritans with whom they had long 
been at enmity. But there are some of his pre- 
cepts which are still more pointed against slavery. 
One of them is, " Thou shalt love thy neighbour 
as thyself." And another is, " Do unto others 
as thou wouldst that they should do unto thee." 



He who follows these precepts cannot possibly 
compel his fellow-creatures to work for him 
against their consent, nor without giving them 
full compensation for their labour. 

John. But I have heard professors who were 
slave-holders say, that the Jews under the old 
law were allowed to hold slaves* 

Father. Yes; but Paul says "the law made 
nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better 
hope did, by which we draw nigh unto God." 
Heb. vii. ID. The law of Moses was not from 
the beginning, but "was added because '$f trans- 
gression, till the seed should come to whom the 
promise was made." Gal. iii. 19. The Israelites 
were then in such a dark, carnal state, that they* 
could not receive a more spiritual law ; and the 
professors of Christianity whose minds are now 
in the same dark state, find it very convenient to 
go back to those who lived under the law, for ex- 
amples to follow, instead of following after Christ. 
By this means they might justify not only war 
and slavery, but polygamy and other gross evils. 
Moses allowed a man who was not satisfied with 
his wife, to give her a writing of divorcement, and 
put her away; but Christ says, it was "not so 
from the beginning" and that it was allowed 



25 

by Moses " because of the hardness of their 
hearts." 

John. But does not the New Testament speak 
of servants ? 

Father. Yes : it speaks of those whose calling 
or business in life was that of servants ; and Paul 
advises such to be content in their calling : say- 
ing, ,c Let every man remain in the calling where- 
in he was called. Art thou called being a ser- 
vant? care not for it." 1 Cor. vii. 20. But we 
are not to suppose that these were slaves, for a 
man may agree to serve another for wages, and 
then he is called a servant. 

John. It appears to me that a great many good 
men, in all ages of the world, have been concern- 
ed in the practice of going to war, and holding 
slaves. 

Father. A great many persons who were sin- 
cerely pious, have been partakers of these evils, 
their eyes being so blinded by the prejudices of 
education that they did not see them in their true 
light. We find, however, that such persons have 
always mourned over the calamities of war, and 
endeavoured to mitigate the hardships of slavery; 
and if they had followed still further the teachings 
of this benevolent spirit, they would have been 



2f8 

led by it entirely out of these evils ; for, like the 
dawning of light upon the natural world, the per* 
ception of Divine Truth in the minds of individu- 
als and nations, is always gradual and progressive* 
But it -appears from the history of the Christian 
church, that the practice of war, even in self- 
defence, was condemned by the primitive Chris* 
tians for the first three centuries: and after the 
visible church became corrupted, and had aposta^ 
tized from the Truth, there were large numbers, 
in almost every age, who bore a faithful testimony 
against the shedding of human blood, — against 
oaths of every kind, — against priestcraft and per* 
secution, — and against many of the corruptions in 
faith and practice which had crept into the church. 
There were great numbers of these dissenters 
in Italy, from the ninth to the thirteenth century, 
who bore the name of Paterines ; and a similar 
people were known in Piedmont by the name of 
Waldenses, who continued for five or six centu- 
ries, till about the time of the Reformation.* The 
Moravian brethren professed nearly the same prin- 
ciples, both before and since the Reformation, 
and the Society of Friends have borne the same 
testimonies for nearly two hundred years past.— 

* For a full account of these people, see Jones's Church 
History. Some notice of them may be found in Mosheim's 
Ecc. History. 



W7 

AH these people suffered severely from persecu- 
tion, and immense numbers sealed their testimo- 
nies with their blood in martyrdom, rather than, 
take up the sword in self-defence ; but they were 
sometimes wonderfully preserved,, and seldom 
suffered from any others than the false professors 
of Christianity. Even the Indians of North 
America respected the Friends and Moravians, 
although in the first settlement of Pennsylvania 
they were entirely unprotected by arms,, and pro- 
fessed the principle of non-resistance. 

These holy and benevolent principles must pre- 
vail more generally among professing Christians,, 
before that happy era can arrive when the lion 
and the lamb shall lie down together, when the- 
outcasts of Israel shall be gathered* and Ethiopia 
shall stretch forth her hands unto God. 

Every one who professes to be a follower of 
Christ, in this enlightened age, should reflect 
deeply upon these things, and endeavour to walk 
in the narrow path of self-denial ; for w r e shall not 
be judged by the measure of knowledge that was. 
imparted to other men of former ages, but accord- 
ing to what has been made known to ourselves. 
" Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall 
be much required: and to whom men have com- 
mitted much, of him they will ask the more." — 
Luke xii. 48. If the holy men who are mention- 



28 

ed in the Old Testament, lived up to the law that 
was given to them, we ought likewise to live up 
to the law that is given to us, which is not an 
outward law that can take cognizance of outward 
acts only, but is an inward law that takes hold 
of the motives and principles of action, being 
written by " the spirit of the living God, not in 
tables of stone, but in the fleshly tables of the 
heart." Jer. xxxi. 33, and 2 Cor. iii. 3. It is this 
" law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus which 
makes free from the law of sin and death." See 
Rom. viii. 2. For it will (in those who are obe- 
dient to it) " crucify the flesh with its affections 
and lusts." 

When the " love of God is shed abroad in the 
heart" and becomes our governing principle, it 
makes us love all God's creation, and especial- 
ly all mankind ; " for he made of one blood all 
nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the 
earth." 

If God is " good even to the unthankful and to 
the evil," will not his holy Spirit prompt us to 
pursue the same course ? And if his beloved Son 
laid down his life for the good of mankind, and 
prayed for his persecutors, will not his dominion 
in our hearts be attested by the same kind of 
fruits ? 

These truths are undeniable ; — and I think it is 



29 

equally clear, that the man who comes fully under 
the government of Divine Love, will not only bear 
a faithful testimony against all contention, oppres- 
sion and injustice, but against every thing that is 
opposed to the peace and happiness of man. He 
cannot enrich himself by dealing in that which 
makes other men poor ; neither can he become an 
instrument of evil by encouraging in any way the 
frequent or unnecessary use of ardent spirits, 
when he sees how many thousands in our country 
are falling a prey to intemperance, and how many 
tens of thousands it has reduced to misery and 
ruin. 

John. I should think the effect of true religion 
must be, not only to restrain us from evil, but to 
lead us into all goodness. 

Father. Certainly it is. We must not only 
" cease to do evil," but we must " learn to do 
well," and thus obtain the fulfilment of that bless- 
ed promise ; "Though your sins be as scarlet, 
they shall be as white as snow, and though they 
be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Isa. 
i. 16-18. 

Our holy and blessed example, Christ Jesus, 
went about continually doing good ; — it was his 
meat and his drink to do his Father's will ; and all 
4 



30 

those who would be his disciples must follow his 
steps, as far as light and ability are afforded. 

"Is not this the fast which 1 have chosen," 
saith the Lord, u to loose the bands of wickedness, 
to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppress- 
ed go free, and that ye break every yoke ? Is it 
not, to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou 
bring the poor that are cast out to thy house ? 
When thou- seest the naked that thou cover him, 
and that thou hide not thyself from thy own flesh*" 
Isaiah lviii. 6, 7. 

He who does these things from the pure mo- 
tive of Christian charity, will not sound a trum- 
pet before him, but will endeavour to "do them 
in secret, and he who seeth in secret will reward 
him openly." It is true, the Divine Being looks 
at the state of our hearts, and the motives of 
our actions, rather than the actions themselves; — 
but pure motives and good feelings cannot long 
exist in us, without bringing forth their appropri- 
ate fruits; — therefore the apostle James says, that 
"faith without works is dead," and that "pure 
religion and undefiled before God and the Father 
is this : to visit the fatherless and widows in their 
affliction, and to keep ourselves unspotted from 
the world." Now in order to keep ourselves un- 
spotted from the world, we must not only forsake 
its vices, but we must turn away fram its vain 



31 

fashions and trifling amusements. We must hot 
" be conformed to this world, but transformed by 
the renewing of our minds." Rom. xii. 2. And 
we are required " to walk in wisdom towards 
them that are without, redeeming the time; and 
let your speech be always with grace, seasoned 
with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to an- 
swer every man." Colos. iv. 5, 6. 

These are the genuine and invariable fruits of 
being " born again of incorruptible seed., by the 
word of God which liveth and abideth forever;" 
and it is not possible for any soul to participate in 
the joys of heaven, either here or hereafter, with- 
out being born again, and made a "partaker of 
the Divine nature." 

The gospel of Christ (by which I mean the 
"power of God unto salvation," Rom. i. 16,) is 
truly a glorious gospel ; for it saves men from the 
dreadful effects of sin, not by an imputative righ- 
teousness, but by taking away the sinful nature 
cut of the heart, so that those who have been dead 
in sin are raised up in newness of life. We can- 
not be reconciled to God while we remain in a 
state of sin; for " what communion hath light with 
darkness, and what concord hath Christ with Be- 
lial ?" That corrupt nature in man which has 
sinned, must be crucified and slain, (Rom. vi. 6,) 
in order that Christ may reign in us ; for "" if any 



32 

man be in Christ he is a new creature, all old 
things are done away, and all things are new, and 
all things of God." We must " put off the old man 
with his deeds, and put on the new man, which is 
renewed in knowledge after the image of him that 
created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, 
circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian nor 
Scythian, bond nor free ; but Christ is all, and in 
all." The true Christian knows no distinction of 
party or sect, of rank or condition ; for he loves 
ail mankind ; — and all those who are governed by 
the same pure spirit, whatever may be their name 
or profession of religion, he can salute as brethren. 
He does not expect the fellowship of the gospel 
to be always accompanied by an entire uniformity 
of opinion, for it is " the unity of the spirit" that 
is " the bond of peace;" and if all the professors 
of religion were governed by that one pure spirit 
which speaks " peace on earth and good will to 
men," there would be no occasion for creeds to 
define the boundaries that separate one sect from 
another. It has always been the effect of human 
creeds and systems of religion, to array sect against 
sect, and brother against brother ; but our Divine 
Master has given us no creed to bind the con- 
sciences of men, except the one rule by which 
their principles may be known, which is to try 



them by their fruits; for a good tree cannot bring 
forth evil fruit, nor an evil tree good fruit. 

" Love is the fulfilling of the law," and '"'by 
this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, 
if ye have love one to another." " Not every one 
that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall be saved, 
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is 
in heaven." 

Let no man think himself converted, or regene- 
rated, until he finds the pure spirit of Divine Love 
to be his governing principle in thought, word, 
and deed, so that " whether he eats, or whether 
he drinks, or whatsoever he does, it is all for the 
glory of God." Then, and not till then, can it 
be truly said that he is renewed in the spirit of his 
mind, and that he has " put on the new man, 
which after God is created in righteousness and 
true holiness." Ephesians iv. 24. We are as- 
sured that those who arrive at this blessed state 
will find "the yoke made easy and the burden 
light," for there will be a spring of joy opened in 
their hearts, that will make every trial and afflic- 
tion seem as nothing, for Christ's sake. The 
pleasures and honours of the world will, in their 
view, lose all their charms to please, and they will 
go on their way rejoicing in a living foretaste of 
those celestial joys which the world can neither 
give nor take away. But even in this state of 
4* 



34 

mind, there is a continual need of reliance upon 
Divine aid ; for " it is not in man that walketh to 
direct his steps." Jer. x. 23. And that solemn 
injunction of Christ should never be forgotten, — 
" Watch ye therefore, for ye know not when the 
master of the house cometh, at even, or at mid- 
night, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning ; 
lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And 
what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch." — 
Mark xiii. 35. 



CONVERSATION II. 



ON DIVINE WORSHIP. 

John. In a former conversation the subjects of 
repentance and conversion were discussed, and 
we were shown the necessity of being " born again 
of incorruptible seed, by the word of God, which 
liveth and abideth forever." There is another 
subject of much interest which I desire to under- 
stand, and that is the right mode of worshipping 
the Divine Being. 

Father. This is a subject of deep interest to 
every awakened mind, and I shall endeavour to 



35 

state my views upon it for your serious considera- 
tion; not wishing you to adopt them any further 
than you may be convinced in your own minds 
of their truth. 

James. There is a wide difference among 
Christians of various denominations in their man- 
ner of worship, and yet most of them profess to 
derive their views from the same source. The 
Catholics have their stated forms of prayer and 
praise, many of which are repeated in a dead lan- 
guage; the Episcopalians have theirs all written 
and repeated in the English language ; the Pres- 
byterians have no forms for their prayers, but 
their hymns are set to music, and sometimes ac- 
companied by the organ; the Methodists and Bap- 
tists have mostly discarded the instrumental music, 
but still retain the vocal, — while the Friends, or 
Quakers, have relinquished both, and all set forms 
of prayer and preaching, deeming neither indis- 
pensable to Divine worship, which they believe 
may be acceptably performed in silence. Now, 
if the Bible be so perfect a rule as is generally 
stated, how is it that all these people differ so 
much in their views, for they all appeal to it for 
authority? 

Father. The Old Testament is very explicit in 
stating the form of worship and all the ceremonies 



36 

enjoined upon the Jews, because that was an out- 
Ward dispensation, intended to typify and lead to 
a spiritual dispensation; and its end being accom- 
plished, it was abrogated by the coming of Christ. 
Now we may remember he said to the woman of 
Samaria, " The hour cometh and now is, when 
the true worshippers shall worship the Father in 
spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to 
worship him. God is a spirit, and they that 
worship him, must worship him in spirit and in 
truth." 

I have no doubt that this spiritual worship,— 
this communion of the soul with the Father of 
spirits, — has been, and still is performed at times 
by the pious and sincere worshippers in all the 
various sects of Christendom; — the question is, 
which of the various forms of worship is most 
consistent with the Christian dispensation, and 
best adapted to promote true spiritual worship. 

John. I think it is much to be regretted, that 
the writers of the New Testament were not a lit- 
tle more explicit in regard to the manner of wor- 
ship, for there has been a great deal of disputing 
about it among the professors of Christianity. 

Father. I do not think so. For Christ said to 
his disciples, "I have yet many things "to say to 
you, but ye cannot bear them now; howbeit, when 



37 

he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide 
you into all truth: for he shall not speak of him- 
self, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he 
speak: and he will show you things to come. He 
shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and 
shall shew it unto you." John xvi. 12-14. Was 
it not much better to direct their attention to the 
teachings of the Spirit of Truth, (which he has 
promised to all those who wait upon him) than 
to give them verbal or written instructions about 
the manner of worship, which perhaps they were 
not in a state to receive ? 

John. Those who were to be guided by the 
Spirit of Truth, or indued with a miraculous gift 
of the Holy Ghost, did not need such particular 
directions, but if the apostles, while under the in- 
fluence of this power, had written a more minute 
account of their forms of worship, it might have 
saved a great deal of controversy. 

Father. True spiritual worship does not de- 
pend upon any form, but upon the power or in- 
fluence under which it is performed. "The king- 
dom of God is not in word, but in power." 1 Cor. 
iv. 20. It is not necessary that we should use 
the same form of worship that the apostles did, — 
but it is absolutely necessary that we should be 
governed and influenced by the same power, or 



38 

spirit of truth; for without it we cannot even think 
a good thought, much less can we perform, ac- 
ceptably, the solemn service of Divine worship. 
The apostle Paul said, "We are not sufficient of 
ourselves, to think any thing as of ourselves, 
but our sufficiency is of God, who also hath made 
us able ministers of the New Testament ; not of 
the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter killeth, 
but the spirit giveth life." 2 Cor. iii. 5, 6. 

John. But would not the same spirit always 
lead into the same form? 

Father. It will always produce the same fruits 
of holiness, but not always the same form of wor- 
ship; for the Divine Being adapts his instructions 
and requisitions to the state of the people whom 
he visits. His mercy and his condescension to 
the children of Israel were so great that he gave 
them an outward law, adapted to their weak, car- 
nal state; and he made that law a figure, or shadow 
of good things to come, so that they might be led 
by the shadow to seek for the "substance, which 
is Christ. 9 ' It is evident that the prophets and 
other holy men who lived under the law, did come 
to the knowledge of Christ; for the apostle Peter 
says expressly, that "the spirit of Christ was in 
them." 1 Peter i. 11. But in process of time, 
the Mosaic law became much corrupted by the 



39 

traditions of the elders which the scribes had en- 
grafted upon it, and the people became so depen- 
dent upon outward observances that they "omitted 
the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, 
and faith." Matt, xxiii. 23. Then it became ne- 
cessary to abolish that law, and Jesus Christ came 
to "take away the hand-writing of ordinances/' 
and to introduce a more spiritual dispensation, 
which he exemplified in his life and sealed by 
his death. This law of the new covenant was 
predicted by the prophet Jeremiah, who says, 
" This shall be the covenant that I will make with 
the house of Israel : After those days r saith the 
Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, 
and write it in their hearts, and will be their 
God, and they shall be my people." Jer. xxxi. 
33. It is far superior to any outward law, because 
it is always adapted to the condition of each indi- 
vidual, and it is not limited in its application to 
our outward actions, for it condemns every evil 
thought which rises in the mind; and thus in the 
obedient, dedicated soul, it lays the axe to the 
root of the corrupt tree. 

John. I acknowledge all this is consistent with 
the scriptures;, but I have sometimes met with 
persons who say that all immediate revelation has 
ceased, and that we have nothing to depend on 
now, but the scriptures and our reasoning powers. 



40 

Father. Yes, there are such persons, and some 
of them even pretend to be Christians. But the 
scripture tells us, "No man can say that Jesus is 
Lord, but by the Holy Ghost" 1 Cor. xii. 3. 

James. I have often heard such persons speak 
on religion, — and I confess that I have so little 
knowledge on the subject, that I could not refute 
their reasonings. I should like to be certain that 
the Divine spirit does operate upon man, and in- 
form him of his duty, before we proceed further in 
the consideration of spiritual worship. 

Father. The best way, and the only sure way 
for a man to be satisfied of this, is, to be obedient 
to every manifestation of duty in his own mind, — 
to keep all his passions in subjection, and to do 
every thing that he believes will be pleasing in 
the sight of God ; and he will then find, as he 
continues to walk in this path, that his spiritual 
perceptions will improve; and he will see many 
things to be wrong, which he once considered in- 
different, and will experience many joys to spring 
up in his heart, which before were unknown to 
him ; until at length he may arrive at that state 
of " full age," which the apostle Paul speaks of, 
" even of those who by reason of use have their 
senses exercised to discern both good and evil." 
Heb. v. 14. That we have a sense of duty, or 



41 

moral faculty (by some called conscience) placed 
in our minds, which when divinely enlightened 
enables us to discern both good and evil, without 
waiting for the slow deductions of reason, must 
be acknowledged by every man that is acquainted 
with his own heart. This important truth, which 
is so plainly taught in the sacred writings, and so 
readily acknowledged by every unprejudiced mind, 
was long obscured, and even denied, in the false 
theology of the schoolmen "who darkened coun- 
sel by words without knowledge;" — but it is now 
acknowledged by the most distinguished writers 
on moral philosophy; and it has been ably proved, 
that this "moral sense" is one of the earliest fa- 
culties developed in childhood ; that it is capable 
of being improved by use, or impaired by neglect; 
and that on its use or abuse is dependent the hap- 
piness or misery of man.* 

James. These facts are acknowledged even by 
those who deny the authority of the scriptures. 

Father. Now, if it be admitted that we have a 
" moral sense," for discerning between good and 
evil, it follows as a necessary consequence, that 
there must be a medium by which this sense is 
brought into use : for the eye cannot see without 

* See Stewart's Moral Philosophy. 



42 

light; nor can the ear hear without sound. The 
Divine Spirit is the medium which conveys to our 
conscience, or moral sense, the knowledge of spi- 
ritual things. It is called the lights because it is 
the medium of perception. It is called the word 
of God, because through this medium he speaks 
to the soul; and it is called the grace of God, 
because it is given freely, " without money and 
without price." Jesus refers to the conscience as 
the eye of the soul, when he says, " If thine eye 
be single, thy whole body wiH be full of light: 
but if thine eye be evil, thy whole body will be 
full of darkness. 9 ' There is such a striking anal- 
ogy between the effects of light upon the natural 
eye, and the operations of the Divine Spirit in 
the soul, that I am willing to pursue it further. 

The first thing that strikes the attention of an 
infant is the light; yet it has no knowledge of the 
nature and properties of light, nor the uses for 
which it was designed; — it does not even know 
the distance, nor size, nor quality, of any thing it 
sees, until its senses are improved by exercise. 
Persons who were born blind, and have been re- 
stored to sight by a surgical operation, have at 
first to examine and handle every thing they see, 
like the infant does, until by experience they learn 
to judge of the size and distance of objects. All 
their first perceptions are imperfect and indistinct. 



43 

Like the man who was restored to sight "by our 
Lord, they see M men as trees walking." Yet 
none of these facts induce us to doubt of the qual- 
ities of light being the same in every individual-; 
and even the man whose eyes are impaired by 
disease, so that he cannot direct his steps aright, 
must acknowledge, that on other men the light 
may be shining unimpaired. 

It is thus that our mental vision becomes gra- 
dually accustomed to the influence of the Divine 
Spirit " in whom we live, and move, and have 
our being ;" and as we are earnestly engaged in 
attending to its discoveries, and faithfully concern- 
ed to walk in the light, we shall become "chil- 
dren of the light and of the day," and will expe- 
rience an advancement in the truth, and in the 
knowledge of the Lord ; so that what was at first 
as " the light of the moon, shall become as the 
light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be- 
come sevenfold, as the light of seven days ;" for 
"'the path of the just is as the shining light, that 
shineth more and more unto the perfect day." 

James. I have long been acquainted, in some 
measure, with the effect of conscience in restrain- 
ing me from doing evil, or reproaching me for it; 
but I had no idea that this was any thing extra- 
ordinary. 



44 

Father. It is not any thing extraordinary, for 
all men have it; and the Divine light shines on the 
moral sense of all, but all men do not attend to it; 
for " men love darkness rather than light, because 
their deeds are evil." 

It is acknowledged by all, that man has nothing 
good in his own nature, independent of the Divine 
Being. " There is none good but one, — that is 
God." Therefore, if we find any thing in our own 
hearts to condemn us for evil, it must be some- 
thing that is good, — something that comes from 
God; for evil will not condemn evil. Satan is not 
" divided against himself." This pure principle 
of Divine Light not only condemns us for evil, 
and " sets our sins in order before us," but it 
likewise incites us to goodness; and when we are 
obedient to it, we are sensible of a holy joy, a hea- 
venly serenity of mind, which the apostle Paul 
describes as the " love of God shed abroad in the 
heart." 

John. I can bear witness to that ; for I have 
experienced it in some measure, and I must ac- 
knowledge that it far surpasses all the joys this 
world can afford. 

Father. These truths are admitted by the most 
pious and enlightened writers of every Christian 
denomination that I am acquainted with; and ma- 



45 

ny of them have acknowledged, that at times ihey 
have been so influenced by Divine grace in their 
religious services that their words seemed to come 
to them unsought, and were accompanied with 
such convincing power and Divine energy, that 
all opposition was subdued, and many hearts were 
melted into love and tenderness. Almost every 
pious and experienced Christian will acknow- 
ledge, that he has often known something of this 
heavenly influence to pervade his mind, during 
his seasons of private devotion, when he has 
withdrawn his mind from the world, and pros- 
trated his whole soul in silent adoration before 
that awful Being whose presence fills infinity, and 
whose power upholds the universe. Why then 
should there be so little of this power and this 
precious solemnity experienced in the religious 
worship that generally prevails in Christendom ? 
Is it not because men have u forsaken God, the 
fountain of living water, and have hewn out to 
themselves cisterns, — broken cisterns, that can 
hold no water?" Instead of waiting for his power 
to influence their hearts, to control their thoughts, 
and to enable them to worship in spirit and in 
truth, how many rush into forms and ceremonies, 
without waiting for any Divine influence to per- 
vade their minds ; forgetful of the apostolic decla- 
ration, that "we know not what to pray for as we 
5* 



46 

ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for 
us with groanings which cannot be uttered ; and 
he that searcheth the heart knoweth what is the 
mind of the Spirit, because he maketh interces- 
sion for the saints according to the will of God." 
Rom. viii. 26, 27. 

John. But it will not be safe, from this, to con- 
clude that all vocal utterance of prayer or praise is 
inconsistent with true spiritual worship; for Christ 
himself prayed with his disciples, and gave them 
a form of prayer at their request. It is also said, 
that they sang a hymn after eating the passover. 

Father. I would by no means restrict divine 
worship to entire silence ; for it does not consist 
in outward silence alone, any more than it does in 
words. The apostle Paul says, "I will pray with 
the spirit and with the understanding also: I will 
sing with the spirit and with the understanding 
also." 1 Cor. xiv. 15. From this, it is evident 
he thought the understanding alone was not suf- 
ficient without the aid of " the spirit" of divine 
grace, to dictate prayer or praise to God. In his 
epistle to the Ephesians, he tells them to " take 
the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the 
Spirit, which is the word of God; praying al- 
ways with all prayer and supplication, in the 
spirit, and watching thereunto, with ali perse- 



47 

verance, and supplication for all saints." In near- 
ly all the instructions of the blessed Jesus and his 
apostles respecting prayer, the duty of watching 
is carefully enjoined; for the hearts even of the 
faithful, are not always in a state suited to pray 
or sing praises to God. It is the duty of all to 
watch thereunto, as the " sick and the impotent 
folk" waited at the pool of Bethesda, until " an 
angel came down and troubled the water," and 
then " they stepped in" and " were healed of 
whatsoever disease they had." John v. 4. 

" Watch and pray," said Jesus, " for ye know 
not the hour when the Son of man cometh." 
" Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, 
when he cometh, shall find watching : verily, I say 
unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make 
them to sit down to meat, and will come forth 
and serve them." Luke xii. 37. 

As to the hymn which they sang after eating 
the passover, I have no doubt it was dictated by 
the "power and wisdom of God," which dwelt 
in Jesus ; for he told them on several occasions, 
" Whatsoever I speak, even as the Father said 
unto me so I speak." " I can of mine own self 
do nothing; as I hear I judge." Therefore a 
hymn, dictated and sung under this Divine influ- 
ence, must have been highly edifying. When he 
promised his disciples that the " Comforter, which 



48 

is the Spirit of Truth," should come and teach 
them all things, he certainly did not intend to limit 
its operations by confining them to a set form of 
prayer or praise. 

The prayer known by the name of the Lord's 
prayer, was also dictated by the same Divine wis- 
dom, and was exactly adapted to the occasion on 
which it was given ; but it does not follow that it 
will suit all occasions; for we have no account of 
its being used afterwards by the apostles, although 
their praying is often mentioned. 

The Lord's prayer is remarkably short, and 
yet very comprehensive ; and it appears to have 
been designed to show his disciples, that they 
must not be like the heathen, who thought " to be 
heard for their much speaking." His parable of 
the publican who smote his breast, and said, 
*' God be merciful to me a sinner," and came 
down justified rather than the Pharisee who made 
a long profession, was also intended to show, that 
it is not the formal hypocrite, but the humble con- 
trite heart, which is acceptable in the Divine sight. 
God looks at the heart ; the form of prayer or 
praise is nothing in his sight ; but the influence 
under which it is performed is every thing. Our 
Lord says, " Your Father knoweth what things 
ye have need of before ye ask him." He knows 
what will be good for us better than we do our- 



49 

selves ; and if we set about asking him for what- 
ever we may deem right in our own eyes, we 
shall often "ask amiss," and then it will be an 
evidence of his mercy not to grant it. 

James. What is the use of praying, then? 

Father. The object of prayer is not to change 
the Divine purposes, but to conform our wills to 
his. His will and his purposes are always the 
same, and always right; for in him is neither va- 
riableness nor shadow of turning. One object of 
religious worship is, to seek for light from him to 
know our own states and conditions; and when 
we are thus brought to see what we stand in need 
of, he gives us ability to ask it ; he extends to us 
his holy sceptre, and grants the prayer that is 
made according to his will. This is the prayer 
of faith that is always availing, whether it be utter- 
ed vocally, or only breathed in the secret of the 
soul. The man whose heart is devoted to God 
will be always " watching unto prayer," and may 
therefore be said to "pray without ceasing," for 
he will be often engaged in mental supplication, 
or in songs of praise, " making melody in his 
heart unto the Lord." Nor will his prayers be 
confined to supplications for his own soul. As all 
the members of the true church are one in spirit, 
bein£ baptized by one spirit into one body, and 



50 

Cnereby made to sympathize one with another ; so 
each member will be at times dipped into a feel- 
ing of near unity with the brethren, and may feel 
himself constrained, by the influence of Divine 
love, to offer up a petition on their behalf, either 
vocal or mental, which will be acceptable in the 
Divine sight ; and being accompanied by the in- 
fluence of his Holy Spirit, cannot fail to do good. 
He who prays, preaches, or sings, without this 
influence, is like one who shoots his arrows at a 
venture, and, unless his rashness be overruled by 
Divine Providence, he is more likely to do harm 
than good. But even when we think ourselves 
clothed with ability for religious services, it is 
well to remember the caution of the royal preacher, 
" Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of 
God, and be more ready to hear than to give the 
sacrifice of fools : for they consider not that they 
do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not 
thy heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: 
for God is in heaven and thou upon earth ; there- 
fore let thy words be few." Ecc. v. 1, 2. 

John. Does not our Lord promise that " what- 
soever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do ?" 

Father. Yes ; there is such a promise frequent- 
ly repeated : but we are not to understand that 
merely taking the name of Jesus Christ into our 



51 

mouths, will ensure acceptance to our prayers ;; 
for the wicked can do this as readily as the righ- 
teous, and even those who are comparatively good 
may do it improperly. The name of the Lord is 
often used in the scriptures to signify the power, 
spirit, or presence of the Lord. Thus, when he 
promised to send his angel to go before the Israel- 
ites to keep them in the way, he told them, "Be- 
ware of him and obey his voice, provoke him 
not; for he will not pardon your transgressions, 
for my name is in him." Ex. xxiii. 21 . "In all 
their afflictions he was afflicted, and the angel of 
his presence saved them$ in his love and in his 
pity he redeemed them, and he bare them and 
carried them all the days of old." Is. xiii. 9. The 
prophet Jeremiah, in speaking of the coming of 
Christ, says, " This is his name whereby he shall 
be called, the Lord our righteousness" And it 
is also said, " They shall call his name Em- 
manuel, which, being interpreted, is God with us" 
Mat. i. 23. 

The name Jesus (a saviour) and Christ (anoint- 
ed,) was given to him, because in him dwelt a 
full manifestation of the " power and wisdom of 
God," who is the only Saviour; for he says by 
the mouth of the prophets, " I, even I, am the 
Lord, and besides me there is no Saviour." Isaiah 
xli. 3 and 11. Hosea xiii. 4. Now if this name 



52 

is intended to signify the power, spirit, or pre- 
sence of God, do not those who invoke the name 
without feeling the power, take the name of the 
Lord in vain ? They who pray under the influ- 
ence and direction of this holy name or power, 
will ask for nothing inconsistent with the Divine 
will, and therefore their prayers will be always 
availing. 

John. But are we not required to pray for all 
men? and yet we believe that all men are not 
saved, for many continue to live in wickedness. 

Father. God has no pleasure at all " that the 
wicked should die, but that he should return from 
his ways and live." Ezek. xviii. 23. He furn- 
ishes every man with the means of salvation ; for 
" the grace of God, which hringeth salvation, 
hath appeared to all men." He who loves God, 
will love all God's creation ; and this feeling of 
universal love will be found to arise in mental 
supplication for all men, that they may come to 
the knowledge of the same blessed truth : and 
sometimes these aspirations will become so earn- 
est as to give rise to the utterance of vocal prayer, 
which may, under the Divine blessing, produce 
in others the same kind of feelings. But these 
precious feelings may spread from heart to heart, 
and rise into dominion, without the use of words; 



53 

for there is in divine love a sympathetic influence,, 
which pervades the minds of those who worship 
aright; and when they are assembled together in 
worship, it brings them into the " unity of the 
spirit, in the bond of peace," and they seem to 
live and breathe in an atmosphere of love. This* 
holy influence may be felt in such a degree as ta 
surpass the power of utterance ; for human lan- 
guage has no terms by which to convey it to 
others, and it can only be conveyed in that "lan- 
guage in which we were born," which is the lan- 
guage of impressions made upon the heart by the 
finger of God. The same kind of holy solemnity 
is described in the Revelations, as the highest de- 
gree of religious worship ; for, after the opening 
of the sixth seal, the apostle " saw a great multi- 
tude which no man could number, of all nations, 
and kindreds, and people, and tongues, who stood 
before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed 
with white robes and palms in their hands, and 
cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our 
God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the 
Lamb." But when the seventh and last seal was 
opened, every tongue was mute — every soul was 
prostrate in the presence of the living God, and 
there was " silence in heaven about the space of 
half an hour." Rev. viii. i. This state of mental 
silence, in which the active powers of man are all 
6 



54 

at rest and waiting upon God, was also prefigured 
in the institution of the Jewish or Seventh-day 
Sabbath, which the apostle Paul expressly says, 
was " a shadow of things to come." Col. ii. 17. 
And in another place, after speaking of the Sev- 
enth-day, he says, " There remaineth therefore a 
rest to the people of God ; for he that hath enter- 
ed into his rest, hath ceased from his own works 
as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to 
enter into that rest." Heb. iv. 9-11. 

They who have ceased from their own works, 
from the -" will-worship and voluntary humility" 
of the natural man, are then prepared to enter into 
the closet of the heart, and shutting the door upon 
the world, to offer up their prayers in secret to the 
Father of spirits; and "he who seeth in secret, 
will reward them openly," by granting them abil- 
ity to overcome every temptation that may assail 
them. 

James. This doctrine would seem to exclude 
from public worship, not only instrumental music, 
but even the singing of hymns. Yet it appears to 
me, that there are directions somewhere in the 
New Testament for singing hymns and spiritual 
songs. 

Father. Instrumental music is entirely without 
example or precept in the New Testament ; and 



55 

there is good reason to believe it never was used 
among Christians until the church became corrupt- 
ed. It was much used in the worship of the Is- 
raelites under the old law, and was well suited to 
an outward, shadowy dispensation, when the 
Deity, in condescension to the ignorance and 
weakness of the people, was pleased to manifest 
himself in an outward temple made with hands. 
But we live under a spiritual dispensation, and are 
taught to believe, that " the Lord of heaven and 
earth dwelieth not in temples made with hands, 
neither is worshipped ivith men's hands, as tho' 
he needed any thing; seeing that he giveth to all 
life, and breath, and all things ; that they should 
seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him 
and find him; though he is not far from any one 
of us, for in him we live, and move, and have our 
being." Acts xvii. 24-28. 

Music may have a tendency to allay the pas- 
sions, and to quell for a moment the unsanctified 
desires of the human heart; but its influence is 
only temporary ; for no sooner have its sounds 
ceased to vibrate on the ear, than the appetites 
and passions awake from their slumbers with un- 
abated strength. Even the melody of David's 
harp, could only soothe for a while the evil spirit 
of Saul — it had no influence in changing his heart. 
The object of Christ's reign is not to send peace 



56 

tm earth, by soothing the passions of men, but a 
sword, to subdue them and bring them under right 
government. He comes to slay, that he may 
make alive again ; to subjugate the will of man, 
in order that his divine will may be done in us, 
and to bring all our faculties, desires, and affec- 
tions, under the government of his Holy Spirit. 
The pomp of ceremonies, the splendour of deco- 
rations, and the " pealing anthems" of the organ, 
are not consistent with the simplicity of spiritual 
worship, nor with the character and precepts of 
the meek and lowly Jesus. 

It appears that the primitive Christians did 
sometimes sing psalms or spiritual songs, but the 
scriptures do not inform us whether it was al- 
ways a part of their public worship, nor do they 
mention whether more than one person at a time 
was engaged in the service. It seems, from some 
expressions of the apostle Paul, that their mode 
of worship in the church at Corinth was different 
from any that now prevails in Christendom. He 
says, " When you come together, every one of 
you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, 
hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all 
things be done unto edifying. If any man speak 
in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at 
most by three, and that by course, and let another 
interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him 



57 

Iceep silence in the church, and let him speak to 
himself and to God. Let the prophets speak two 
X)Y three, and let the others judge. If any thing 
be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first 
hold his peace; for ye may all prophesy one by 
vne, that all may hear, and all may be comforted." 
1 Cor. xiv. 26-31. 

He also mentions singing, in two other of his 
epistles. He says, "Be not drunk with wine, 
wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit, 
speaking to yourselves in psalms, and hymns, 
and spiritual songs, making melody in your hearts 
unto the Lord." Eph. v. 18, 19. Again he says, 
"Let the ivord of Christ dwell in you richly in all 
wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another 
in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs; sing- 
ing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Col. 
iii. 16. In these passages it is observable that 
he is careful to mention that they must be filled 
with the spirit or word of Christ ; and I think 
there is no doubt that their songs of praise and 
thanksgiving were dictated by it, just as much as 
their praying and prophesying. Every act of 
worship that proceeds from the influence of the 
Holy Spirit, is spiritual worship ; and every act 
that proceeds from the will and wisdom of man, 
is "will worship:" the former is enjoined upon 
6* 



'58 

us; but the latter is expressly forbidden. Col, 
ii. 23. 

We are recommended in the scriptures, not to 
neglect the assembling of ourselves together ; and 
Christ has declared, "Where two or three are 
gathered together in my name, there am I in the 
midst of them." He also says, "Without me ye 
can do nothing." Now, does it not follow that 
when we are assembled together, we must wait in 
silence until we feel his power and presence to di* 
rect and assist us ? For "obedience is better than 
sacrifice, and to hearken, than the fat of rams." 
They who act upon any other principle than this^ 
appear to me to be like those who urged Jesus to 
go up to the feast: but he replied, "My time is not 
yet come: your time is always ready. The world 
cannot hate you, but me it hateth, because I tes* 
tify of it that the works thereof are evil." John 
vii. 6, 7. 

John. I should think it very uncharitable to 
say, that nearly all the worship that now prevails 
in Christendom is evil ; for I am certain that there 
are many pious men in every Christian sect. 

Father. I do not say their worship is evil ; for 
I hope and believe much of it is accepted in the 
Divine sight. He who beholds the hearts of all 
men, has graciously promised, " To that man will 



59 

I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite 
spirit, and that trembleth at my word." There 
is a dead form of silence, as well as a dead form 
of words; and it is equally offensive in the Divine 
sight. They who merely sit in outward silence, 
pretending to present their bodies before the Lord, 
while their hearts are far from him, and their 
Thoughts wandering in pursuit of earthly objects, 
-are assembling in a dead form. 

John. Is this dead form as dangerous as the 
other ? 

Father. In one respect I think it is not so dan- 
gerous; it does not encourage the practice of using 
improperly the words of holy men, and the pro- 
mises of scripture. That which was true in the 
mouth of a saint, may be a falsehood in the mouth 
of a sinner. 

James. Yes; I have often been struck with the 
impropriety of that practice, and I believe it not 
improbable, that many a well-meaning man utters 
more falsehoods in time of worship than in all 
the week besides. 

Father. There are some hymns of such a gene- 
ral character, that almost any pious man may join 
in them without a breach of veracity; but it does 
not follow that they will always suit the state of 



60 

his mind. There are other hymns and psalms 
which describe particular states of mind, and con- 
tain the expression of particular feelings and de- 
sires, which can only be sung with truth by those 
who are in the same state of mind. For instance, 
when David says, "As the hart panteth after the 
Water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O 
God. My tears have been my meat day and 
night, while they say unto me continually, Where 
is thy God?" Ps. xlii. 1, 3. 

Now, how many singers are there in most con- 
gregations that can sing this psalm without de- 
parting from the truth? For those who are mourn- 
ing, to sing the songs of joy, and for those who 
are rejoicing, to join the wail of sorrow, is equally 
inconsistent. He who joins a choir to sing in 
public, is expected to sing every thing that is se- 
lected for them ; no matter how discordant his 
feelings may be, if his voice be harmonious, no- 
thing more is required : and what is worse than 
all, persons who have musical talents are often 
induced to join the choir, while their hearts are 
unrenewed, and sometimes even while their moral 
characters are notoriously impure. 

How offensive must it be to that omnipresent 
and holy Being, "who is of purer eyes than to 
behold iniquity," when he looks upon this solemn 
mockery, this approaching with the lips, while 



61 

the heart is far from him ! Will he not say to 
such persons, as he did to the Jews formerly, 
"Who has required this at your hands, to tread 
my courts ? Bring no more vain oblations, in- 
cense is an abomination unto me, the new moons 
and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies I cannot 
away with ; it is iniquity, even the solemn meet- 
ing." Under the old law, he who had touched a 
dead body, or an unclean beast, was not allowed 
to come into the congregation until he was puri- 
fied ; much less could he participate in an act of 
worship: and shall they who are "living in plea- 
sures, and who are dead while they live," take an 
active part in public worship, under a more spirit- 
ual dispensation ? It is evident that such cannot 
drink of the cup that Christ drank of, nor are they 
baptized with his baptism; and if they partake of 
the outward form while they deny and reject the 
life and substance, do they not drink unworthily 
to their own condemnation ? These remarks will 
not apply to those sincere and pious worshippers 
who are really hungering and thirsting after righ- 
teousness; for unto them there always will be a 
blessing. But to this class I would seriously ad- 
dress the inquiry, whether that worship which is 
offered up in the will and wisdom of man, is not 
calculated to keep alive that will and to nourish 



62 

fhat wisdom by which it is performed ? Now we 
know that our wills must be subjected to the Di- 
vine will, and we are taught that " the wisdom of 
man is foolishness with God," when applied to 
spiritual things. u The kingdom of God is with- 
in you," says Christ; and it is altogether reason- 
able that he should be known, and obeyed, and 
worshipped, in his kingdom, If he veils his pre- 
sence from us, — as he often does, — then we must 
wait upon him. " I wait for the Lord," says the 
psalmist, "my soul doth wait — my soul waiteth 
for the Lord, more than they that watch for the 
morning." Ps. exxx. 5, 6. The psalms of David, 
the writings of the prophets, the discourses of 
Jesus, and the epistles of Paul, contain a great 
many exhortations to wait upon the Lord, and 
learn of him. And John, the beloved apostle, 
writes to the Christians of his day, and tells them, 
"*• The anointing which ye have received of him 
abideth in you, and ye need not that any man 
teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth 
you of all things, and is truth and is no lie, and 
even as it hath taught you ye shall abide in him." 
1 John ii. 27. 

It is also said in many places in the scriptures, 
that Christ himself shall be the prophet, the leader, 
and the teacher of his people ; for he alone is the 






true "shepherd and bishop of souls." Now whiles 
we have such exceeding great and precious pro- 
mises, how unwise are they who "compass them- 
selves about with sparks of their own kindling," 
instead of waiting in patience for the Divine in- 
fluence to enable them to worship in spirit and in 
truth. 

If Christ be the teacher of his people, they that 
would learn of him must sometimes learn in si- 
lence ; for, if we are always thinking our own 
thoughts, and speaking our own words, or those 
of others, we cannot hear the instructions that are 
conveyed to the soul by the impressions of the; 
Divine spirit. 

If Christians of different denominations cannot, 
at present, see the propriety of giving up their 
stated forms of prayer and praise, I am persuaded 
they would derive great advantage from appropri- 
ating a part of the time of their religious meetings 
to silent waiting upon God : it would give greater 
life and solemnity to the rest of their worship; 
and, independently of all other considerations, they 
would find it a most excellent discipline for the 
mind. 

John. I find by experience, that when I wish to 
consider any thing attentively, I can do it best in 
silence; and it seems reasonable that our tongues 



64 

should be still, when we undertake to examine our 
hearts.* 

Father. There is a very instructive fact men- 
tioned in the history of the prophet Elijah, when 
he was in a cave on Mount Horeb. He was com- 
manded to go forth and stand upon the mount be- 
fore the Lord. "And behold the Lord passed by, 
and a great and strong wind rent the mountain, 
and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but 
the Lord was not in the wind : and after the wind 
an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earth- 
quake : and after the earthquake a fire, but the 
Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire, a still 



*A late writer, in speaking of what is termed "the Lord's 
Supper," makes this remark : " In all other instances of 
social worship, your attention is required without ceasing, 
to some external process, and you pass on from one part of 
the service to another with little opportunity to reflect as 
you proceed, or to pursue the suggestions which are made, 
in the manner that your own peculiar condition may re- 
quire. But in this, the leisure is given for thoroughly ap- 
plying to your own personal state, all that has met your 
ear, and for pouring out freely the devotional feeling which 
has been excited. And if there be any thing favourable to 
the soul, as multitudes of devout persons have insisted, in 
occasions for contemplative tvorship in the presence of other 
men, then in this respect the Lord's Supper may claim a 
superiority over every other season of social devotion." 
Now, if the pauses which occur during the administration 
of the Supper are found to be so salutary, why may they 
not be introduced at other times with equal advantage ? 



65 

small voice. And it was so when Elijah heard 
it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and 
went out and stood in the entering in of the cave. 
And behold there came a voice unto him and said, 
What doest thou here Elijah !" Thus it appears 
that Elijah knew that the word of the Lord (to 
which he had long been accustomed) was not ta 
be heard in the noise and confusion of the outward 
elements, — but as soon as he heard the still small 
voice, he wrapped his face in his mantle and list- 
ened to the Divine Monitor. We have no reason 
to believe, that this "word of the Lord" which 
came to the prophets, was conveyed in sounds to 
the outward ear ; for God is a spirit, and the soul 
of man is spiritual ; therefore the word by which 
he speaks to the soul is also spiritual. 

The apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians, 
saying, " Know ye not that ye are the temple of 
God, and that the spirit of God dwelleth in you ? 
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall 
God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, 
which temple ye are." 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17. 

And the apostle Peter advises the Christians of 
his day, to "desire the sincere milk of the word, 
that," says he, " ye may grow thereby. If so be 
ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To 
whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed 
indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious ; 
7 



66 

ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual 
house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual 
sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." 
1 Peter ii. 3-6. Thus it appears that the soul of 
man is the temple of God, and that his church is 
a spiritual house, built up of living stones, of 
whom Jesus Christ is the " chief corner stone, 
elect and precious." The temple of Solomon, 
with all its glory, was but a faint emblem or figure 
of this spiritual house which God is preparing for 
himself to dwell in, and in which he manifests his 
glory and his power. 

It is written of Solomon's temple, that " it was 
built of stone made ready before it was brought 
thither: so that there was neither hammer nor 
axe, nor any tool of iron, heard in the house 
while it was in building." 1 Kings, vi. 7. How 
striking a figure was this of the beautiful order 
and holy solemnity that ought to prevail, when 
the living stones are brought together in the as- 
semblies of God's people! When we approach 
his awful presence to worship him in spirit and 
in truth, we should be careful not to employ the 
tools or ceremonies of man's invention ; for the 
Lord, in directing his chosen people to build an 
altar, said, "An altar of earth shalt thou build unto 
me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt-offerings 
and thy peace-offerings : and if thou wilt make 



67 

me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of 
hewn stone : for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, 
thou hast polluted it." Exodus xx. 24. Deut. 
xxvii. 5. 

The offerings in God's temple are no longer of 
an outward nature, for " he is not worshipped with 
men's hands, as though he needed any thing." 
He requires us to give him the " first fruits" of 
all that we possess : we must serve him before all 
others, and give him the first place in our affec- 
tions. The sacrifice which he accepteth is "a 
broken and a contrite spirit ;" and the smoke of 
the incense which ascends up before him, is "the 
prayers of the saints." Rev. viii. 3. 

I shall conclude this subject with a quotation 
from the writings of that great and good man, 
William Penn. "If," says he, "we are not to 
take thought what we shall say when we come 
before worldly princes, because it shall be given 
us, and that it is not we that speak, but the spirit 
of our Heavenly Father that speaketh in us ; 
(Matt. x. 20,) much less can our ability be need- 
ed, or ought we to study to ourselves forms of 
speech in our approaches to the great Prince of 
princes, King of kings, and Lord of lords. The 
psalmist says, 'Lord thou hast heard the desire 
of the humble, thou wilt prepare their heart, thou 
wilt cause thine ear to hear;' and says Wisdom, 



68 

* The preparation of the heart in man, and the an- 
swer of the tongue is from the Lord.' Here it is: 
thou must not think thy own thoughts, nor speak 
thy own words ; which indeed is the silence of 
the holy cross ; but be sequestered from all con- 
fused imaginations, that are apt to throng and 
press upon the mind in those holy retirements. 
It is not for thee to think to overcome the Al- 
mighty by the most composed matter cast into the 
aptest phrase : — no, no, — one groan, one sigh 
from a wounded soul ; an heart touched with true 
remorse, a sincere and godly sorrow, which is 
the work of God's spirit, excels and prevails with 
God. Wherefore, stand still in thy mind ; wait 
to feel something that is divine to prepare and dis- 
pose thee to worship God truly and acceptably. 
And thus taking up the cross, and shutting the 
doors and windows of the soul against every thing 
that would interrupt this attendance upon God, — 
how pleasant soever the object be in itself, — how 
lawful and needful at another season, — the power 
of the Almighty will break in, — his spirit will 
work and prepare the heart, that it may offer up 
an acceptable sacrifice." 



69 



CONVERSATION III. 



ON THE ORIGINAL AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 

James. Brother John and I have lately been 
conversing about the original and present state of 
man, but we cannot agree in opinion, and have 
concluded to ask thy views upon the subject. He 
contends, that the transgression of Adam, in eat- 
ing the forbidden fruit, produced an entire change 
in the nature of man, so that we are all born in a 
corrupt and sinful state ; and that we are liable to 
punishment, not only for our own transgressions, 
but likewise on account of the guilt of our first 
parents, which he says is imputed to all their off- 
spring. This doctrine I cannot believe; for it 
appears to me to be entirely inconsistent with the 
justice and mercy of the Divine Being, to impute 
to me a sin which I never committed ; nor can I 
understand how the nature of man could be so 
completely changed by that one transgression of 
Adam ; for we do not find any inherent difference 
now between the children of the righteous and 
the children of the wicked ; they appear to be all 
7* 



70 

born in the same state, though it is acknowledged 
that the example and teaching of their parents 
have a great influence upon their characters. 

John. I do not reason in this way upon sub- 
jects of so momentous a character, but am content 
to refer to the scriptures of truth, which, being 
written by inspired men, are a much safer depen- 
dence than the fallible reason of man. 

Father. I believe that all scripture, "given by 
inspiration of God, is profitable for doctrine, for 
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteous- 
ness ; that the man of God may be perfect, 
thoroughly furnished unto all good works." The 
truths contained in the scriptures, if properly un- 
derstood and made the rule of our actions, are of 
inestimable value to man ; but it is very evident 
that they cannot be understood without the exer- 
cise of reason; for a man deprived of reason could 
not derive the least benefit from them. They are 
addressed to the understandings of men ; but ow- 
ing to the imperfection of human language, they 
are liable to be misunderstood, especially by those 
who have no experimental knowledge of the 
things to which they relate. The most valuable 
parts of scripture are those which relate to spirit- 
ual things ; but in order to understand them clear- 
ly, we must come to the knowledge of the things 



71 

themselves. When we undertake to study any 
natural science, we are not satisfied with merely 
reading descriptions of natural objects, but we ex- 
amine the objects for ourselves. For instance, 
the science of botany describes the various plants 
and flowers which the great Creator has so pro- 
fusely scattered over the face of the earth ; but we 
cannot obtain an accurate knowledge of them, 
merely by reading descriptions ; we must our- 
selves examine the things described ; and in order 
to do this, we must have light to assist us. Now 
this is the course we ought to pursue in the ex- 
amination of spiritual things. The scriptures in- 
form us, that " the kingdom of God is within us," 
and that it consists of " righteousness, peace, and 
joy in the Holy Spirit." But what will this de- 
scription avail us, unless we look within us to find 
these things, and become obedient to the teachings 
of the Holy Spirit, whose light will make them 
manifest? There is much useful information in 
the scriptures, about the state of original purity 
in which man was created ; the state of sin and 
corruption into which he has fallen by disobe- 
dience ; and the state of restoration and salvation 
which is obtained by the faithful servants of 
Christ. This information is sometimes conveyed 
in plain and simple precepts, which may be un- 
derstood literally; but it is often adorned with 



TZ 

metaphors, and not unfrequently it is clothed In 
parables or allegories, according to the genius of 
the oriental languages. It is well known that 
Jesus frequently spake in parables, which were 
not generally understood by the multitude, and 
that he explained their meaning to his disciples. 
But even to his disciples he did not open every 
thing at once, for he said, "I have many things 
to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." 
There are many pious men, who do not doubt 
that the account given by Moses of the garden of 
Eden and the fall of our first parents, is literally 
true, yet they believe it has in it a spiritual sig- 
nification of far more importance to us. 

John. I am afraid to depend upon these spiritu- 
al significations, lest I should overlook the literal 
meaning of the text, and thus convert the whole 
Bible into an allegory. When any thing is stated 
as parable, I am then willing to look for a spiritu- 
al meaning, but not otherwise. 

Father. It appears that the apostle Paul was of 
a different opinion ; for he says, when speaking of 
the two sons which were born unto Abraham, that 
they were " an allegory" of " the two covenants." 
Gal. iv. 24. Yet Moses does not say it is an al- 
legory, but relates it as a matter of history ; and I 
have no doubt the facts did occur just as Moses 



73 

has stated them, and that the spiritual meaning 
revealed to the apostle is equally true. It will 
be acknowledged by almost every experienced 
mind, that the account given by Moses of the 
journeying of the Israelites from Egypt through 
the wilderness to the promised land, contains a 
faithful and beautiful allegory of the Christian's 
progress from a state of darkness and sin, to a 
state of gospel light and salvation ; yet who can 
suppose that this view of the subject impairs our 
belief of the facts related by Moses ? With re- 
spect to the garden of Eden, in which man was 
originally placed when he was created, there can 
be no doubt that the account given by the inspired 
penman, is beautifully descriptive of that state of 
spiritual enjoyment which resulted to Adam from 
his dressing and keeping the trees of the garden ; 
or, in other words, from his keeping in their pro- 
per order all the desires and affections of his ani- 
mal and spiritual natures, which were given for 
the promotion of his happiness, and pronounced 
to be good. That the garden of Eden was con- 
sidered among the holy men of old, as a state of 
spiritual enjoyment, we have an evidence in the 
writings of the prophet Ezekiel ; for he says, in 
addressing the king of Tyrus, " Thus saith the 
Lord God, Thou sealest up the sum, full of wis- 
dom and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in 



74 

Eden, the garden of the Lord; every precious 
stone was thy covering, the sardius, the topaz, 
and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, the jasper, 
the sapphire, the emerald, the carbuncle, and gold; 
the workmanship of thy tabrets and thy pipes 
was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast 
created. Thou art the anointed cherub that cov- 
ereth, and I have set thee so : thou wast upon the 
holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and 
down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou 
wast perfect in- thy ways from the day thou wast 
created, till iniquity was found in thee." Ezek. 
xxviii. 12 to 16. Behold, what a state of purity 
and wisdom was here, and that too " from the 
day he was created !" But he fell from this state 
of righteousness ; for the prophet goes on to say, 
" By the multitude of thy merchandize they have 
filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou 
hast sinned. Therefore I will cast thee as profane 
out of the mountain of God ; and I will destroy 
thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the 
stones of fire !" 

James, There is a very striking resemblance 
between the state here described, and that of our 
first parents as represented by Moses : for it ap- 
pears that this king of Tyrus had " been in Eden, 
the garden of God;" that he was "full of wis- 
dom and perfect in beauty ;" and that he was 



75 

"perfect in Ids ways from the day he was crea- 
ted, till iniquity was found in him." And it ap- 
pears, too, that his punishment was similar to 
that of Adam ; for he was " cast as profane out of 
the mountain of God." Now it becomes an in- 
teresting inquiry with me, whether the cause of 
his fall was not similar to that of Adam, and 
whether all men are not, like him, created pure 
and innocent, by the great Author of our being: 
for "have we not all one Father?" and " hath 
not one God created us?" Mai. ii. 10. And if 
God is " the Father of spirits," as the apostle tes- 
tifies, Heb. xii. 9, must not our souls come pure 
out of his hands? 

Father, The first of these inquiries, in relation 
to the manner in which the king of Tyrus fell 
from his state of purity, is answered by the pro- 
phet Ezekiel. "Thus saith the Lord God, Be- 
cause thy heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I 
am a God; I sit in the seat of God, in the midst 
of the seas ; yet thou art a man, and not God, 
though r thou set thy heart as the heart of God." 
Now it appears that the sin of our first parents 
was somewhat analogous to this; for they were 
induced to believe that they " should be as Gods, 
knowing good and evil;" and after they had 
yielded to the temptation, " the Lord God said, 



76 

Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know 
good and evil." Gen. iii. 5, 23. 

James. There is a difficulty with me in under- 
standing what Moses has said about the tree of the 
knowledge of good and evil, which was placed in 
the midst of the garden, and of which our first pa- 
rents were forbidden to eat : for this appears to me 
like placing a temptation before them ; and yet the 
apostle James has said, " God cannot be tempted 
with evil, neither tempteth he any man." 

John. I cannot see that the difficulty would be 
removed, by saying that the tree here spoken of 
was some evil principle in the mind of Adam : for 
all his principles before the fall were derived from 
above. It appears to me that the temptation was 
suggested by the serpent, who was only an in- 
strument of satan and endowed by him with a 
miraculous power of speech and reason. We are 
told that the evil one has the power of " trans- 
forming himself into an angel of light ;" and 
therefore it was in his power to assume the form 
of a serpent, in order to effect his malicious de- 
signs. 

James. As far as my own experience is con- 
cerned, I have no evidence of an evil spirit as ex- 
isting separately from man ; all my temptations 
have arisen from the perverted appetites and de- 



77 

sires of my own nature, which are sometimes so 
disguised by self-love as to appear like ministers 
of happiness, or angels of light. 

Father. I do not think we shall gain any thing 
by discussing the much debated question about 
the existence of a devil ; for, whether there be an 
evil spirit separate from man or not, I think it is 
very clear that unless our first parents had pos- 
sessed in themselves a desire for the forbidden 
fruit, no persuasions of a disguised enemy could 
have induced them to eat it, contrary to the di- 
vine prohibition. A person with no appetite for 
food, would never fall into the vice of gluttony, 
especially if he knew that it would destroy his 
life. It is said, "The woman saw that the tree 
was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the 
eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise." 
Consequently she had an appetite or desire to par- 
take of its fruit. This tree must have been cre- 
ated good, and intended for some good purpose ; 
for when the work of creation was finished, " God 
saw every thing he had made, and behold it was 
very good." Now let us recur to our own experi- 
ence, and we shall find that all our animal appe- 
tites, and all our mental desires and affections, are 
not only necessary to our existence, but conducive 
to our happiness, when kept under the govern- 
8 



78 

ment of the Divine Spirit, which gives life to the 
soul. It is only when i 
their original purpose that I 
ments of evil. Adam was created in the im 
God ; that is to say, his mind was like the Divine 
mind, full of purity, benevolence and joy; and he 
enjoyed the privilege of spiritual communion with 
God ; which is to partake of " the tree of life, 
which is in the midst of the p: f God." — 

Rev. ii. 7. But, although h< a free 

agent, he was not intended I 

of God as to know of himself what was good and 
what was evil, without 

rection. And when nimed to set up his 

own will, and to be 

to the Divine will, h 

and having thus tuxn< Holy Spi- 

rit, he 

and, consequently, he di th. It 

was thus that he experienced the fulfilment of the 

Divine prediction, ll In tin day th 

of, thou shalt surely die:" for, u to be rarnn/h/ 

minded is death; hut to he spiritually mind 

life and peace." But in this state of 
from God, Adam was not deserted by the m 
of his heavenly Parent : for he ft It " the reproofs 
of instruction, which are the way of lite." That 
same Divine Word which had been his joy and 



79 

his consolation while in a state of innocence, now 
became his reprover and his chastener. It was to 
him as " a flaming sword, turning every way to 
keep the way of the tree of life," and to exclude 
him from the garden of Eden, which he was no 
longer worthy to enjoy. Every one who has at- 
tended to his own experience, knows what it is 
to be condemned for deviating from a known 
duty ; how completely it shuts him out from a 
state of enjoyment, and prevents him from par- 
taking of that peace of mind which is the reward 
of obedience. " For the word of God is quick 
and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged 
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of 
soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and 
is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the 
heart. Neither is there any creature that is not 
manifest in his sight ; but all things are naked and 
open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to 
do." Heb. iv. 12. How merciful, how beneficent, 
is the Divine Author of our being, that he will 
not suffer us to rest in peace, while in a state of 
disobedience to his holy law ! For in this state 
of alienation from him we never could be happy. 
The happiness of man, both here and hereafter, 
is not made to depend upon any extraneous cir- 
cumstances, such as the possession of an outward 
garden ; but it depends upon the state of his mind, 



80 

and the government of his affections. God is 
perfectly happy and beneficent himself, and he 
wills that all his creatures should be happy ; but 
it is impossible for any to participate in his hap- 
piness, without becoming in some degree " par- 
takers of his nature," and by the operations of the 
Holy Spirit, being renewed into the image of God, 
in which we were created. 

John. This view of the subject is very different 
from the one I have always entertained, and it ap- 
pears to me to be inconsistent with many passages 
in the scriptures of truth, as well as some facts in 
the present condition of man, which I shall en- 
deavour to state. In the first place, man being 
created in the image of God, he must have been 
immortal; not subject to disease nor death, until 
he tasted the fruit of " that forbidden tree, whose 
mortal taste brought death into the world, with all 
our woe." But, having broken the Divine com- 
mand, he incurred the penalty of death ; which 
sentence was passed upon hirn when he was ex- 
pelled from the garden, but the execution of the 
sentence was deferred for a long period ; and he 
was doomed to eat his bread in the sweat of his 
face, till he returned unto the ground from whence 
he was taken. 

Secondly. When Adam had eaten of this for- 
bidden fruit, he lost the Divine image of holiness, 



81 

wisdom, and immortality ; and while in this state, 
his children were born unto him in his own image 
of fallen nature; consequently, they must have been 
born in a state of sin, and subject to mortality. 

Thirdly. There are many passages in the scrip- 
tures to confirm these views of the inherent de- 
pravity of man, through the sin of Adam. King 
David says, " I was shapen in iniquity, and in 
sin did my mother conceive me." And again, 
he says of the children of men, " They are all 
gone aside; they are altogether become filthy; 
there is none that doeth good, no not one." The 
apostle says, " We were by nature the children of 
wrath, even as others." It is also said in relation 
to the world before the flood, that " God saw that 
the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and 
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart 
was only evil continually." That this state of 
depravity was owing to the sin of Adam, may be 
inferred from the writings of the apostle Paul ; for 
he says, ■" As by one man sin entered into the 
world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon 
all men, for that all have sinned." Again he says, 
" As by one man's disobedience many were made 
sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be 
made righteous :" for, " as in Adam all die, even 
so in Christ shall all be made alive." That God 
does impute the sins of the parents to the children, 
8* 



82 

may be proved from his dealings with the chil- 
dren of Israel ; for he said he would " visit the 
sins of the fathers upon the children, to the third 
and fourth generation." 

Lastly. I think these views are confirmed, by 
Observing the actual condition of mankind in the 
world around us. See how much misery there is, 
resulting from depravity and sin ; what raging 
passions desolate the moral world ; what horrid 
crimes pollute the characters of men ! Surely the 
destroyer has been here, and has left only a wreck 
behind, of all that was once so fair and beautiful. 
Nor is the corruption that reigns around us con- 
fined to the adult and the aged ; even children 
seem to partake of it, and the first developments 
of character are marked with anger and impatience. 

Father. I shall endeavour to answer these ob- 
jections in the order in which they have been 
stated. And first : 1 agree that man, being in the 
Divine image, must have been immortal ; but what 
part of him was made in the image of God ? — 
Surely it was not his earthly body ; for "God is 
a Spirit," and " no man hath seen his shape at 
any time." I consider the body as the tabernacle 
or house in which the immortal soul dwells, du- 
ring its state of probation, and I believe it was so 
considered by the inspired penmen; for Paul 
speaks of " our earthly house of this tabernacle 



83 

being dissolved." 2 Cor. v. 1. To say that the 
sentence of death was passed upon Adam when 
he was driven from paradise, but the execution of 
the sentence was postponed for about nine hun- 
dred years, seems to me to be a very imperfect 
fulfilment of the Divine prediction, " In the day 
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Let 
us suppose that Adam and all his posterity had 
continued in the body until the present period, 
and that they had gone on to " multiply and re- 
plenish the earth," without any being removed by 
death; where would the countless myriads have 
found room for existence ? I have no idea that 
the human body was ever intended to be immor- 
tal; for it was made of earthly materials, which 
are subject to decay ; and we know that our bodies 
are continually changing by absorption and secre- 
tion, so that the particles which composed them 
at one period of life, are entirely removed at an- 
other. I do not think the mortality of our bodies 
is any proof of our being born in a state of sin ; 
for even the holy body of the Messiah was liable 
to death, or else he could not have been slain.- — 
He called his body his temple, saying, " Destroy 
this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." 
When I say that " the wages of sin is death" to 
the soul, I do not mean that the soul of the sin- 
ner ceases to exist, but that it ceases to be actuated 



84 

by the Spirit of God, who is the life of the righ- 
teous soul: for it is said in the scriptures, that 
" they who are living in pleasures, are dead while 
they live." They have lost the influences of Di- 
vine life, and are like withered branches, ready to 
be cut off. 

The second objection is founded on the chil- 
dren being born in the image of their parents. — 
Now it is not said in Genesis, that Adam's chil- 
dren were all born in his image ; for Seth is the 
only one mentioned as being born in his father's 
likeness. It is not an unusual thing, in the pre- 
sent day, for a child to bear the image of his fa- 
ther stamped on his person ; but who among us 
would be so unjust as to impute to children the 
guilt of their parents, from a circumstance like 
this ? It is said in the apocryphal book of the 
w T isdom of Solomon, that by Divine Wisdom "the 
first formed father of the world was brought out 
of his fall ;" and if any of his children were born 
after he was thus restored to the Divine image, 
can we suppose that these would be purer than 
the rest? I do not think they would, for we find 
no such effects in the present day. 
. I believe that every soul is the immediate gift 
and creation of God, agreeable to scripture tes- 
timony, " The dust shall return to the earth as it 
was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave 



85 

it." Ecc. xii. 7. If therefore the soul or spirit of 
man be the gift of God, it must come pure out of 
his hands. 

The third objection rests upon passages of 
scripture, all of which admit of a different inter- 
pretation, and one that is far more consistent with 
the character of a wise and benevolent Creator.— 
A number of these passages speak in general 
terms of the whole human race, as being in a cor- 
rupt or fallen state, which I readily grant was 
true ; but the scriptures themselves mention a 
number of exceptions. For instance, it is said of 
man before the flood, that " every imagination of 
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continual- 
ly ;" and that " God looked upon the earth, and 
behold it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted 
his way upon the earth" Yet it is said in the 
same chapter, that Noah, who was then living, 
was "a just man, and perfect in his generation," 
and that " Noah walked with God" 

It is very common, even now, to speak of 
cities and nations in general terms, and to give to 
a whole people the character which we think 
generally prevails among them; but no one sup- 
poses, that in such cases, there are not many ex- 
ceptions. For my own part, 1 believe that there 
always have been good people in every age of the 
world, and that many who have passed through 



86 

life unnoticed in the vale of obscurity, are now 
enjoying their reward in heaven. There are a 
great many excellent characters mentioned in the 
Bible, and some who are represented as perfect. 
" Enoch walked with God three hundred years, 
and he was not, for God took him." " Noah was 
a just man, and perfect in his generation." Job 
was " perfect and upright," and one that " feared 
God and eschewed evil." It is said of Abraham, 
that he " obeyed the voice of God, and kept his 
commandments, and his statutes, and his laws." 
Gen. xxvi. 5. And he obtained the dignified title 
of " the friend of God." James ii. 23. The char- 
acter of Joseph appears to have been without 
blemish, and it is said, "The Lord was with him." 
The prophet Samuel was called in childhood to 
the service of God, and served him all his days. 

It appears that there were good men in the days 
of king David, for he says, " Mark the perfect 
man, and behold the upright, for the end of that 
man is peace." There is reason to believe that 
Elijah was a perfect man, for he was translated ; 
and Daniel, and some others of the prophets, ap- 
pear to have lived in great favour with God. If 
such a state of perfection was attained by some 
before the Christian dispensation, may we not 
conclude that there have been a still greater num- 
ber of such characters since ? 



87 

There is not a single passage in the scriptures, 
which says that the guilt of Adam is imputed to 
his offspring ; — they do not even prove that there 
is any inherent depravity in man. The expres- 
sions of David, where he says, " I was shapen in 
iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me," 
(Ps. li. 5,) were uttered at a time when he was 
under deep conviction for actual transgression; 
but if they must be taken literally, they only prove 
that his mother was a sinner. 

What is sin? Is it not "the transgression of 
the law ?" and " where there is no law, there is 
no transgression." Jesus said of the Jews, " If I 
had not come and spoken unto them, they had not 
had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin," 
John xv. 22. The spirit of Christ still makes 
known to every man his duty ; and until we dis- 
obey him, we have no sin. It is true that it is 
said, "By the disobedience of one man many 
have been made sinners ;" but this expression may 
be applied to others besides Adam. It is said of 
Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he " made Israel 
to sin;" and that "the children of Israel walked 
in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did ; they 
departed not from them." Wherefore it is said, 
that Josiah " made all that were present in Israel 
to serve the Lord their God ; and all his days they 
departed not from following the Lord, the God of 



88 

their fathers." Now, when we consider the re- 
lation in which Adam stood to the human family, 
it is not surpri^in^ that many of them should fol- 
low his early example ; and that these a^ain 
should influence others to swerve from the path 
of rectitude. Such a result is perfectly consistent 
with what we know of the character of man. 

The apostle Paul, after Bpeaking of' 1 the chU 
dren ofdisobi Epb. ii. 8 ' Among 

whom we also had our conversation in tin* 
in the lasts of our flesh, fulfilling // i of 

the fltih (i/id (\f tin mind, and were by nut 

the children of wrath, -v." Hut in 

another place, the same ap< 

tiles which have not the law, do by Hai 

thing* contained in thi law; these baring not 

the law, are a law unto themselves; which show- 
forth the works of the law written in their hearts." 
Rom. ii. 14. 

Now, if the first of these texts proves thai I 

men have been sinners "by nature," the second 
one proves that others have been righteous " by 
nature." I understand the apostle's doctrine to 
be, that when we "fulfil thi s of the Besk 

and of the mind," we come into the nature of the 
children of wrath, who are the children 
obedience ; but when we show forth the works of 
the Divine law written in our hearts, we become 



89 

"partakers of the Divine nature." "As by one 
man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, 
and so death passed upon all men, for that all 
have sinned" Here the reason is assigned why 
spiritual death hath passed upon all men; it is 
because all have sinned, and not because of any 
imputed guilt. And the same apostle has said, 
that " as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall 
all be made alive." He does not say that we all 
died in Adam ; but he speaks in the present tense, 
and says, " In Adam all die." Now let us con- 
sider what nature it is that we have derived from 
Adam. Is it not our animal nature 1 It cannot 
be our spiritual nature; for God only is " the 
Father of spirits." Heb. xii. 9. If, then, we are 
governed by this animal or earthly nature which 
we derive from Adam, we die ; for " to be carnal- 
ly minded is death ;" but if we become obedient 
to " the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus," 
we shall live ; for to " be spiritually minded is life 
and peace." The name Adam, signifies earthy; 
and the apostle says, " The first man is of the 
earth, earthy." The first developments which 
take place in the infancy of man, are his animal 
appetites; for, "that is not first which is spiritual, 
but that which is natural, and afterwards that 
which is spiritual." These appetites are neces- 
sary to our animal existence, and they are not evil 
9 



90 

in themselves; but they become evil to us, when 
we suffer them to have dominion over us ; for 
they are good servants, but bad masters. 

It is abundantly evident, from the convictions 
of our own minds, as well as from the scriptures, 
that God does not impute to us any sins but those 
which we have ourselves committed ; for who has 
ever felt any compunction for the sins of his an- 
cestors ? If, therefore, " our heart condemn us 
not, then have we confidence towards God." 1 
John iii. 21. It is true, that God said to the chil- 
dren of Israel, "I the Lord thy God am a jealous 
God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the 
children unto the third and fourth generation ;" 
but observe, he adds, "of them that hate me." 
Ex. xx. 5. It is evident, however, that we do 
feel the natural effects of our fathers' conduct, 
whether it be good or whether it be evil. He 
whose life is regulated by the principles of pure 
religion, endeavours to bring up his children in 
the way they should go, and when he is gone, 
they will feel the good effects of his virtuous ex- 
ample and unsullied reputation. But, on the con- 
trary, the wicked man often subjects his children 
to misery and disgrace, even to the third and 
fourth generation. How awful, then, is the re- 
sponsibility of parents ? How should these con- 
siderations incite us to diligence and watchfulness, 



91 

lest it be said to us in the day of solemn reckon- 
ing, " Where are the lambs I committed to thy 
charge?" 

So far is the doctrine of original sin from being 
taught in the Bible, that there are several passages 
directly against it. One of the most striking of 
these is in the book of the prophet Ezekiel, who 
was sent to the children of Israel, expressly to 
reprove them for having taught this doctrine. He 
says, " What mean ye that ye use this proverb 
concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers 
have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth 
are set on edge ? As I live, saith the Lord, ye 
shall not have occasion any more to use this pro- 
verb in Israel. Behold all souls are mine; as the 
soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is 
mine : the soul that sinneth, it shall die." xviii. 
2-4. "Yet, say ye, why? doth not the son bear 
the iniquity of the father ? When the son hath 
done that which is lawful and right, and hath 
kept all my statutes and done them, he shall sure- 
ly live. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The 
son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, 
neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the 
son : the righteousness of the righteous shall be 
upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall 
be upon him. But if the wicked will turn from 
all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all 



92 

my statutes, and do that which is lawful and 
right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All 
his transgressions that he hath committed, they 
shall not he mentioned unto him: in his righ- 
teousness that he hath done he shall live. Have 
I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die ? 
saith the Lord God : and not that he should return 
from his ways and live ?" ver. 19-23. " Yet ye 
say, the way of the Lord is not equal. Hear 
now, O house of Israel ! Is not my way equal ? 
Are not your ways unequal ?" v. 25. 

This language appears to me as strong as it 
could be against the doctrine of original sin. The 
language of Jesus Christ is also conclusive on this 
point. He says, " Suffer little children, and for- 
bid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the 
kingdom of heaven." "Verily, I say unto you, 
except ye be converted, and become as little chil- 
dren, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of 
heaven." Matt, xviii. 3, and xix. 14. Now it is 
evident from this, that little children must be born 
in a state of purity; for no unclean thing can enter 
into the kingdom of God. 

I shall now proceed to consider the fourth and 
last objection, which relates to the present condi- 
tion of man as displayed in the world around us. 
And I must acknowledge, that a large proportion 
of mankind appear to be so far alienated from the 



93 

Divine harmony, that we may consider them in a 
fallen state; but this fact being admitted, it does 
not follow, as a necessary consequence, that they 
were born in a state of impurity and sin ; it only 
shows that all are born with appetites and propen- 
sities, which, if improperly indulged, will lead 
to sin ; and Adam himself must have been created 
with similar appetites, or else he never would 
have fallen. Let us examine some of these appe- 
tites and desires, and I think we shall find them 
wisely adapted to the condition of man. 

The first appetite that we discover in infancy, 
is hunger, which prompts the child to partake of 
food, before it can reason upon its use ; and if its 
food is withheld, it is prompted to cry for it, so 
as to excite the compassion of its parents. But it 
is not in childhood only that this appetite is sub- 
servient to our welfare. How many there are 
who would neglect the proper nourishment of 
their bodies, if they were not impelled to it by 
the cravings of hunger, and by the hope of that 
pleasurable sensation which is derived from par- 
taking of food? Yet the desire for food, thus pro- 
duced in man, will, if improperly indulged, lead 
to the vice of gluttony. Nearly the same obser- 
vations will apply to the appetite of thirst, and 
the pleasure that attends its gratification : yet the 
inordinate indulgence of this appetite leads to the 
9* 



94 

dreadful vice of intemperance, which has wrought 
such misery and desolation in the human family* 
The desire for rest is also necessary for recruiting 
our bodily strength, and its gratification is attend- 
ed with a sensible pleasure ; but its improper in- 
dulgence leads to indolence, disease, and depra- 
vity. The desire for action is one of our natural 
propensities that is very conspicuous in child- 
hood 5 and its exercise is conducive to the health 
of both body and mind. It is this that often im- 
pels to useful labour, and renders even labour a 
pleasure. But how many evils arise from the de- 
sire of employment, when it takes a wrong direc- 
tion ? Thus, the vice of gambling is one among 
the many expedients that have been invented "to 
kill time," and to fill up those vacant hours which 
ought to be devoted to nobler purposes. The de- 
sire for knowledge is one of the noblest faculties 
of the mind, and the exercise of it is accompanied 
by an exalted pleasure : yet this desire, when di- 
rected to frivolous or useless objects, degenerates 
into a vain curiosity, which is productive of eviL 
Thus we might proceed to examine all the de- 
sires and affections of our animal and spiritual na- 
tures, and we should find them all to be the good 
gifts of a gracious God, and " trees of his right-- 
hand planting:" but, like the elements of the na- 
tural world, they are all liable to abuse. Thus, 



95 

conjugal and parental love are good in themselves* 
but they may degenerate into idolatry. Emula- 
tion may lead to envy; and the desire for power 
may end in avarice or ambition. 

It has pleased the benevolent Author of our be* 
ing to attach a peculiar pleasure to the gratifica- 
tion of these desires, when they are kept within 
their proper hounds: but no sooner do we indulge 
them beyond this point, than they become the in* 
struments of our chastisement. Even that natural 
feeling of displeasure or aversion, which is occa- 
sioned by a positive injury inflicted upon our- 
selves or upon others, if it be permitted to arise 
to anger, will give us pain. Yet I believe it is a 
good principle, when directed only against the 
wickedness of me?i, without being accompanied 
by any ill-will towards them ; for the Divine Be- 
ing himself condemns "all unrighteousness," at 
the same time that he is "kind even to the un- 
thankful and to the evil." 

How beautiful — how perfectly adapted to our 
wants, is the original constitution of man ! espe- 
cially when we take into view that Divine princi- 
ple of light which shines in the soul, and enables 
us to perceive what is our duty towards God and 
our fellow-men; which is comprehended in "do- 
ing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly 
with God!" Mic. vi. 8. The virtuous affections 



96 

have been likened to the gales which waft the 
vessel on her way, and this Divine monitor is the 
pilot who sits at the helm and guides her to the 
destined port. How much it is to be lamented 
that the free teachings of this Divine principle are 
neglected, while so many are looking outward to 
men and to books for instruction, instead of look- 
ing within themselves for the kingdom of heaven, 
which consists in "righteousness, peace, and joy 
in the Holy Spirit!" 

John, I remember in our last conversation thou 
told us that man has "nothing good in himself." 
Does not that sentiment conflict with some of the 
views thou hast just expressed? 

Father. I said he had nothing good in himself 
independent of the Divine Being; which does not 
conflict with my present views; for "there is but 
one that is good, that is God." However noble 
may be the faculties he has given to man, they 
cease to be good as soon as they cease to be gov- 
erned by him. God is the sun and centre of his 
spiritual creation ; and as soon as we depart from 
under the restraining influence of his love, we fall 
into a state of disorder and confusion. But he 
desires that we should serve him from choice, and 
not from compulsion ; and therefore, while he has 



97 

bound the material universe in chains, he has "left 
free the human will." 

All the dealings of God towards his creatures 
are founded in eternal love : even the sufferings 
which result from the abuse of his gifts, seem in- 
tended to bring back the delinquents to the path 
of rectitude, which is the only state where happi- 
ness can be attained. His commands and his 
prohibitions are all for our good, and are wisely 
designed for the promotion of our present and 
eternal welfare. It is a law which he has stamp- 
ed upon our nature, that virtue will always pro- 
duce happiness, and vice will always bring mise- 
ry: they do so now, and they must continue to 
do so forever. How important then it is, that we 
should cultivate those benevolent affections which 
are calculated to bring us into the image of God ' r 
for, as we become "partakers of his nature," we 
shall participate in his happiness ; and when we 
leave this scene of probation, we shall be fitted to 
enter into those spiritual joys which are prepared 
for the righteous. 

How ardently do I desire that all my fellow 
creatures may become sensible of the true dignity 
of man : which does not depend on the abundance 
of riches, nor on the attainments of learning, nor 
on the possession of intellectual power; but it 



98 

consists in being made " partakers of the Divine 
nature," enjoying communion with the Holy 
Spirit, and becoming "heirs of God, and joint 
heirs with Christ." 



CONVERSATION III. 



ON THE DIVINE BEING. 

James. Since our last interview, brother John 
and I have been conversing on the attributes of 
the Divine Being, and his manifestations to the 
children of men in different ages of the world. 
He appears to think there is something so myste- 
rious in the subject, that we ought to believe with- 
out understanding it ; but I am opposed to every 
thing like implicit belief: and as different doc- 
trines are taught among men, I cannot believe any 
of them, until the subject shall become clear to 
my own understanding. 

John. Here is the difference between brother 
James and myself: he is determined to measure 
every thing by his own finite understanding, even 
the three-fold existence of the infinite God ; but I 



99 

do not feel at liberty to doubt any thing that ap- 
pears to be clearly recorded in the holy scrip- 
tures, although it may be beyond my limited com- 
prehension : for I find, that even in the works of 
creation, there are many things that I do not un- 
derstand, yet it is impossible to doubt them. For 
instance, I know there is an intintate connexion 
between the soul and the body, and yet I cannot 
understand how they are united, nor how a mate- 
rial body can be acted on by an immaterial soul. 
We cannot understand how the simplest opera- 
tions in nature take place. For example, the 
growth of grass is a fact that we all acknowledge, 
but we do not understand how it takes place. I 
therefore conclude, that it would be a piece of 
great folly in me to attempt to understand the 
mystery of three persons in the Godhead ; for if 
the scriptures assure us of the fact, I ask no further 
evidence. 

Father. I am willing to explain to you my 
views upon the subject, and I wish you to state 
all the objections that may occur to you; for it is 
my desire that we may all be seekers of truth, and 
not the champions of a party. Before I proceed 
to state my views upon the main question, I must 
make a few remarks upon the subject of belief. 

It appears to me, that belief does not depend 
entirely upon our own will; for we often hear 



100 

things asserted, that we could not believe if we 
were to try. If a man who was really very sick, 
were told by his physician that he was not sick, 
and that he might get up and walk, it is very cer- 
tain that the sick man would not believe him, al- 
though he might wish it were in his power to 
believe. 

Belief depends upon the weight of evidence 
presented before the mind, and upon our having 
a clear perception of that evidence. If the mind 
be clouded by the prejudices of education, or 
biassed by interest, it will not always perceive 
the evidence on both sides, that may be presented 
to it; which is a fact that may be illustrated by 
our outward vision : for when a great number of 
objects are presented before us at the same time, 
the eye will naturally rest upon those objects 
which are most agreeable to us, and will some- 
times overlook other objects, so as not to perceive 
them at all. We therefore make up our opinions 
according to the evidence that we perceive; and if 
we perceive only a part of the evidence, we may 
be irresistably led to form an erroneous opinion. 
But if, at any time afterwards, we come to per- 
ceive the remaining evidence, we shall then be 
obliged to change this opinion. Therefore, I do 
not condemn any man for entertaining opinions 
different from my own ; for I conclude that one 



101 

or the other of us has not seen the subject in all 
its bearings ; and I feel assured, that if we are 
both faithful to put in practice all that we do 
know to be good, the Divine Being will not leave 
us without sufficient light to guide our steps in 
the way that leads to eternal peace. 

There are many facts which we cannot explain r 
and yet we are obliged to believe them, because the 
evidence of their existence is so plain as to leave 
no room for doubt. In this case, it is the fact that 
is the object of our belief, and not the manner or 
process by which the fact has been produced; for 
if this process be hidden from us, it cannot be an 
object of belief. For instance, in the cases men- 
tioned by John ; the union of the soul and body, 
and the action of the soul upon the body, are facts 
which I cannot doubt ; but the manner in which 
they are united, and the principle by which the 
soul acts upon the body, are hidden from me, and 
consequently this manner and this principle are 
not the objects of my belief. That the grass 
grows is a fact for which I have the evidence of 
my senses; but so far as I cannot perceive the 
process by which it grows, this process is not an 
object of my belief. The human mind is so con- 
stituted that we cannot believe without sufficient 
evidence; nor can we believe any proposition that 
contains in itself a contradiction or an absurdity: 
10 



102 

for no evidence can prove a thing that contradicts 
itself. For instance, if a person were to say that 
a part of any given thing is as large as the whole 
of it: here is a contradiction that no authority 
whatever could make me believe. Compulsion 
may make hypocrites, but it never can make be- 
lievers. It is related of Socrates, that when he 
was asked his opinion of some writings that were 
very obscure, he replied that he approved of those 
parts which he understood, and he therefore con- 
cluded that the parts which he did not understand 
were equally good. This is the conclusion I have 
formed with regard to the scriptures ; and there- 
fore I am far from rejecting any passage which I 
do not understand : for I apprehend there may be 
truths contained in such passages, which, in a 
more advanced stage of experience, will become 
clear to my mind. 

James. This explanation is satisfactory to me : 
but I believe it is very common for men to with- 
draw their attention from that kind of evidence 
which does not accord with their prejudices and 
passions; and this is a species of wilful neglect, 
for which we shall certainly be held accountable. 
The term mystery, which is so often used by re- 
ligious teachers in order to extricate themselves 
from the absurdities of their own doctrines, has 
been perverted from its original meaning. A mys- 



103 

tery, among the ancients, was not a doctrine sup- 
posed to be incomprehensible in itself; but it was 
something that was hidden, or withheld from the 
public, and only revealed to a favoured few; and 
therefore, when it was revealed to any one, it was 
no longer a mystery to him. 

Father. There are two kinds of mysteries men- 
tioned in the scriptures. The first is that kind to 
which Christ alludes, when he says to his disci- 
ples, " It is given to you to know the mysteries 
of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not 
given." Mat. xiii. 11. These mysteries are not 
revealed through the wisdom or learning of man ; 
for he says, " I thank thee, O Father, Lord of 
heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things 
from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them 
unto babes : even so, Father, for so it seemed 
good in thy sight." Luke x. 21. " Even the mys- 
tery " says the apostle, " which hath been hid 
from ages and from generations, but now is made 
manifest to his saints ; to whom God would make 
known what is the riches of the glory of this mys- 
tery among the gentiles; which is, Christ in you, 
the hope of glory." Col. i. 26, 27. 

From these passages it appears, that the mys- 
teries of the kingdom of God are only revealed to 
the children of the kingdom, who are the meek, 
the humble, the teachable, as babes; and they are 



104 

hidden from the wise and prudent of this world ; 
that is, from those who attempt to understand 
them by the wisdom and learning of man, without 
coming to the experimental knowledge of the 
truth. There is, however, another kind of mys- 
tery, called the "mystery of iniquity " which the 
apostle Paul said had begun to work, even in his 
day, and should be more fully revealed in " the 
man of sin and son of perdition," who " opposes 
and exalts himself above all that is called God, or 
that is worshipped ; so that he as God sitteth in 
the temple of God, showing himself that he is 
God." 2 Thes. ii. 3-7. This is the same kind 
of mystery which the apostle John alludes to in 
the Revelations ; for he describes the apostate 
church as "a woman sitting upon a scarlet colour- 
ed beast, full of names of blasphemy; and upon 
her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Ba- 
bylon the great" It appears that the apostle 
Paul forewarned the church of Colosse against 
the particular snare that would cause this "falling 
away;" for he says, "As ye have therefore re- 
ceived Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him, 
rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the 
faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein 
with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil 
you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the 
traditions of men, after the rudiments of the 



105 

world, and not after Christ; for in him dwelleth 
all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." Col. ii. 
6-9. 

Let us now turn our attention to the history of 
the Christian church, and trace the progress of 
this "mystery of iniquity," until it became in- 
scribed on the very front of her doctrines. In or- 
der to show this, I will quote a few sentences 
from Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, which is 
generally esteemed the best. In his account of 
the first century, he says:-— "The method of 
teaching the sacred doctrines of religion, was at 
this time most simple, far removed from all the 
subtle rules of philosophy, and all the precepts of 
human art. This appears abundantly, not only 
in the writings of the apostles, but also in all those 
of the second century which have survived the 
ruins of time. Neither did the apostles, or their 
disciples, ever think of collecting into a regular 
system the principal doctrines of the Christian 
religion, or of demonstrating them in a scientific 
and geometrical order. The beautiful and candid 
simplicity of those early ages, rendered such philo- 
sophical niceties unnecessary; and the great study 
of those who embraced the gospel, was, rather to 
express its divine influence in their dispositions 
and actions, than to examine its doctrines with 
an excessive curiosity, or to explain them by the 
10* 



106 

rules of human wisdom. There is indeed extant, 
a brief summary of the principal doctrines of 
Christianity in that form, which bears the name 
of the apostles' creed, and which, from the fourth 
century downwards, was almost generally consi- 
dered a production of the apostles. All, however, 
who have the least knowledge of antiquity, look 
upon this opinion as entirely false, and destitute 
of all foundation."* In treating of the second 
century, he says, "This venerable simplicity was 
not indeed of a long duration ; its beauty was 
gradually effaced by the laborious efforts of hu- 
man learning, and the dark subtleties of imagi- 
nary science. Acute researches were employed 
upon several religious subjects, concerning which 
ingenious decisions were pronounced ; and, what 
was worst of all, several tenets of a chimerical 
philosophy were imprudently incorporated into 
the Christian system."! 

In reviewing the doctrines of the third century, 
he says: "But the Christian doctors who had 
applied themselves to the study of letters and 
philosophy, soon abandoned the frequented paths, 
and struck out into the devious wilds of fancy. 
The Egyptians distinguished themselves in this 
new method of explaining the truth. "| But when 

* Ecc. His. London ed. 1826. p. 84. t p. 135. X p. 200. 



107 

he comes to the fourth century, he says, " The 
fundamental principles of the Christian doctrine 
were preserved hitherto uncorrupted and entire 
in most churches, though it must be confessed, 
that they were often explained and defended in a 
manner that discovered the greatest ignorance and 
utter confusion of ideas. The disputes carried on 
in the Council of Nice concerning the three per- 
sons in the Godhead, afford a remarkable exam- 
ple of this, particularly in the language and ex- 
planations of those who approved of the decisions 
of that council. So little light, precision, and 
order, reigned in their discourses, that they appear 
to substitute three Gods instead of one."* Again, 
he says : " The faction of the Donatists was not 
the only one that troubled the church during this 
century. Soon after its commencement, even in 
the year 317, a new contention arose in Egypt, 
upon a subject of much higher importance, and 
w T ith consequences of a yet more pernicious na- 
ture. The subject of this fatal controversy, which 
kindled such deplorable divisions throughout the 
Christian world, was the doctrine of three persons 
in the Godhead; a doctrine which, in the three 
preceding centuries, had happily escaped the vain 
curiosity of human researches, and been left un- 

* Ecc. His. Lon. ed. 1826, p. 269. 



108 

defined and undetermined by any particular set of 
ideas."* The emperor Constantine assembled, 
in the year 325, the famous council at Nice, in 
Bythinia, wherein the deputies of the church uni- 
versal were summoned to put an end to this con- 
troversy. In this council, " after many keen de- 
bates and violent efforts of the two parties, the 
doctrine of Arius was condemned ; Christ de- 
clared consubstantial, or of the same essence with 
the Father; the vanquished presbyter banished 
among the Illyrians, and his followers compelled 
to give their assent to the creed or confession of 
faith which was composed by this council."! 

Thus was established by law, for the first time, 
the doctrine of the trinity; which, it does not ap- 
pear, was ever heard of till nearly 300 years after 
the promulgation of Christianity. This doctrine 
seems to have originated in the speculations of 
visionary philosophers, — it was established by a 
council of contentious bishops,— -and enforced by 
the sword of a Roman emperor. Previous to this 
time, different opinions had been entertained on 
this subject, "without giving the least offence ;"| 
but now " the woman" was seated on the beast 
of temporal power ; the name of "mystery" was 
written on her forehead ; and she went on from 

* Eec, His. Lon. ed. 1826, p. 302. ip. 305. tp. 303. 



109 

this period, multiplying her absurd doctrines and 
ridiculous ceremonies, and persecuting all who 
would not conform to them ; until at length she 
became " drunken with the blood of the saints, 
and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." 

James. This piece of history is very instruc- 
tive; it shows us how very dangerous it is to give 
up our own understandings, and to receive with- 
out examination whatever doctrines may be taught 
by the ministers of religion. Every practical 
Christian who reads- his Bible and examines the 
book of his own experience, is just as capable of 
judging for himself as the most learned priest or 
professor of theology. It appears that the scho- 
lastic divines of the fourth century not only forced 
a creed upon the people, but many of the bishops 
had the address to obtain large revenues* for 
teaching these mysteries, which they did not 
themselves understand. If people can only be 
persuaded to shut their eyes, they may be led 
any where ; for then they can no longer distin- 
guish between darkness and light. 

John. It appears to me, that the doctrine of the 
trinity is taught in the scriptures, although the 
name is not found there. I cannot see how any 

* Mosheim, p. 195. 



110 

person who believes in the divinity of Christ can 
doubt this doctrine ; for if we believe that the 
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are each of them 
Divine, it appears to me that the doctrine is es- 
tablished,— unless we say that these are only 
three different names for one and the same Being. 
Father. I believe in the divinity of Christ, but 
I cannot receive the doctrine of three persons in 
one God. The views of William Penn on this 
subject, are so consistent with my own, and so 
well expressed, that I will quote them to you. 
He says, "I sincerely own, and unfeignedly be- 
lieve in ONE, holy, just, merciful, almighty, and 
eternal God, who is the father of all things ; that 
appeared to the holy patriarchs and prophets of 
old, at sundry times and in divers manners ; and 
in one Lord Jesus Christ, the everlasting wisdom, 
divine power, true light, only Saviour and pre- 
server of all, the same ONE, holy, just, merciful, 
almighty, and eternal God, who in the fulness of 
time took and was manifested in the flesh ; at 
which time he preached (and his disciples after 
him) the everlasting gospel of repentance, and 
promise of remission of sins and eternal life to all 
that heard and obeyed; who said, He that is with 
you, (in the flesh,) shall be in you, (by the spirit,) 
and though he left them, (as to the flesh,) yet not 
comfortless, for he would come to them again, (in 



Ill 

the spirit;) for a little time they should not see 
him, (as to the flesh,) again a little while and they 
should see him (in the spirit ;) for the Lord (Jesus 
Christ) is that Spirit, a manifestation whereof is 
given to every man to profit withal. In which 
Holy Spirit I believe as the same almighty and 
eternal God; who, as in those times he ended all 
shadows, and became the infallible guide to them 
that walked therein, by which they were adopted 
heirs and co-heirs of glory; so am I a living wit- 
ness that the same holy, just, merciful, almighty, 
and eternal God, is now, as then, (after this tedi- 
ous night of idolatry, superstition, and human in- 
ventions, that hath overspread the world,) glori- 
ously manifested, to save from all iniquity, and to 
conduct unto the holy land of pure and endless 
peace; in a word, to tabernacle in men."* — [See 
Penn's Innocency with her open face.] 

John. Although I acknowledge that William 
Penn was a great and good man, I cannot take 
his expressions as sufficient authority; I look to 
a higher source, even to the scriptures of truth, 
for evidence on this important question. Now, 
the scriptures appear to me to speak of the Deity 

* See 1 Cor. viii. 5, 6; Heb. i. 1; 1 Cor. viii. 6; John i. 14; 
1 Tim. iii. 16; Mat. iv. 17; Luke xxiv. 47; John xiv. 17, 
18, xvi. 16; 2 Cor. iii. 17; 1 Cor. i. 7; Rom. viii. 14, 17; 
Rev. xxi. 3; Prov. xxviii. 13. 



112 

in a threefold sense: — first, as the Creator and 
Father of all ; secondly, as the Son, who is the 
mediator between God and man ; and thirdly, as 
the Holy Ghost, who is sent by the Father and 
the Son, to sanctify the heart and regulate the af- 
fections. Yet it is repeatedly said in the Old and 
New Testament, that God is one ; therefore, we 
conclude that there are three persons in one God, — 
each of which persons is perfect in himself, pos- 
sessing omnipotence, omniscience, and eternity; 
the "same in substance, equal in power, eternity, 
and glory." [See Westminster Confession.] I 
shall now endeavour to prove these positions by 
passages from scripture. 

1st. That there is more than one person in the 
Godhead, may be inferred from the following 
texts: " God said, let us make man in our image, 
after our likeness." Gen. i. 26. "And the Lord 
God said, the man has become as one of us, to 
know good and evil." Gen. iii. 26. And the 
prophet says, u I heard the voice of the Lord, 
saying, whom shall I send, and who shall go for 
us?" Is. vi. 8. We are also informed by learned 
men, that the name most commonly given to the 
Deity, in the Old Testament, is Elohim, which 
is a plural noun ; and this has been considered a 
strong proof that there is a plurality of persons in 
the Godhead. 



113 

2d. That the number of persons in the Deity 
is three, may be concluded from the words of our 
Lord, who said to his disciples, " Go ye, there- 
fore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost." Mat. xxviii. 19. And also from 
the benediction of the apostle Paul, who says, 
" The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the 
love of God, and the communion of the Holy 
Ghost, be with you all." 1 Cor. xiii. 14. 

3rd. We argue that each of these is, in some 
sense distinct, because one is represented as the 
Father, who sends ; another as the Son, who is 
sent into the world ; and the third as the Spirit, 
that was poured out upon all flesh. The Father 
and Son are also represented, in many places, as 
speaking to each other, which shows that they 
must be distinct from each other in one sense, al- 
though for ever united in another. Now, I think 
it may be proved that each of these persons is Di- 
vine, and consequently co-eternal and co-equal. 
That the Father is omnipotent, omniscient, and 
eternal, will, I suppose, be admitted without ar- 
gument. That the Son is so, may be shown from 
the introduction to the Gospel by St. John. "In 
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was 
with God, and the Word was God. The same 
was in the beginning with God. All things were 
11 



114 

made by him, and without him was not any thing 
made that was made." Ch. i. 2. " And the Word 
was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we be- 
held his glory, the glory as of the only begotten 
of the Father,) full of grace and truth." ver. 14. 
There are many other texts of similar import, but 
I shall quote only one more, which I consider 
sufficient. St. Paul says, " God, who at sundry 
times, and in divers manners, spake in time past 
unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last 
days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath 
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he 
made the worlds ; who being the brightness of 
his glory, and the express image of his person, 
and upholding all things by the word of his pow- 
er, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat 
down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." 
Heb. i. 1-3. 

That the Holy Ghost is not only Divine, but 
personally distinct from the others, may be infer- 
red from the operations assigned to them being 
generally different. He is represented as the bap- 
tizing power ; Christians are also said to be born 
of the Spirit: and Christ promised his disciples, 
"I will pray the Father, and he shall give you 
another Cornforter, that he may abide with you 
for ever, even the Spirit of truth." John xiv. 16. 

4th. Having now shown from scripture that 



115 

there are three persons in the Deity, it only re- 
mains to be proved that Jesus Christ is the second 
person, or Logos, mysteriously united to " a hu- 
man body and rational soul," and born of a virgin; 
and this has been called the hypostatical union. 
This may be proved from many passages. It is 
said, "He took not on him the nature of angels, 
but he took on him the seed of Abraham ; where- 
fore, in all things it behoved him to be made like 
unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and 
faithful high-priest, in things pertaining to God, 
to make reconciliation for the sins of the people ; 
for in that he himself hath suffered, being tempt- 
ed, he is able to succour them that are tempted." 
Heb. ii. 16-18. He is also called " God manifest 
in the flesh." 1 Tim. iii. 16. " God with us." 
"The Lord of glory." 1 Cor. iii. 8. And, "over 
all, God blessed for ever." Rom. ix. 5. That he 
had a human soul, as well as a human body, is 
very clear ; for he says, " My soul is exceeding 
sorrowful, even unto death." Yet his human 
nature must not be confounded with his divine ; 
for, though there be an union of natures in Christ, 
yet there is not a mixture or confusion of them 
or their properties. His humanity is not changed 
into his Deity; nor his Deity into his humanity; 
but the two natures are distinct in one person. 
How this union exists is above our comprehen- 



116 

sion ; and indeed, if we cannot explain how our 
bodies and souls are united, it is not to be sup- 
posed we can explain this astonishing mystery of 
"God manifest in the flesh." [See Buck's Theo. 
Diet, article Jesus Christ — also, Smith's Treatise 
on the Trinity.] 

Father. Those who profess to derive their 
doctrines entirely from the scriptures, ought to be 
very careful to keep to the language of scripture, 
especially when speaking on a subject that they 
do not pretend to understand. If the doctrine of a 
trinity be taught in the scriptures, it must be con- 
veyed by inspiration in the very best language 
which could be chosen ; and there is no need of 
inventing new terms to express it. But we do 
not find any such term in the scriptures as a trin- 
ity ; nor is it said that there are three persons in 
the Godhead ; nor is there any language there 
conveying the same ideas. I therefore conclude, 
that this doctrine is an invention of men ; and it 
must be acknowledged by every reader of history, 
that it has been one of the principal causes of dis- 
sention and persecution ever since it was intro- 
duced into the church. If we take the word per- 
son in its common acceptation, it means an indi- 
vidual, or a being ; and if we say there are three 
infinite persons in one Being, each of whom has 
all power and all wisdom, the proposition con- 



117 

tains in itself a contradiction that is obvious to 
the meanest capacity. Therefore, the advocates 
of this doctrine are obliged to admit that the term 
person does not exactly convey their meaning, 
and that they only use it for want of a better. 
Why then should they contend so strenuously for 
words that do not convey their meaning ? 

I shall now proceed to examine the foundation 
on which this doctrine rests. 

In the first place, — It is said that the use of the 
plural pronouns us and oar, ascribed to the Divine 
Being, and the circumstance of one of the names 
given to him in the scriptures being a plural noun, 
indicate that there is more than one person in the 
Deity. This peculiarity in the Hebrew language* 

* The late learned and amiable Hindoo reformer, Ram- 
mohun Roy, remarks: "Were we even to disregard totally 
the idiom of the Hebrew, Arabic, and of almost all Asiatic 
languages, in which the plural number is often used for the 
singular to express the respect due to the person denoted 
by the noun; and to understand the term, "our image" and 
"our likeness," found in the verse, [Gen. i. 26] as convey- 
ing a plural meaning, the quotation would still by no means 
answer their purpose ; for the verse in question would in 
that case imply a plurality of Gods, without determining 
whether their number was three or three hundred, and of 
course without specifying their persons. No middle point 
in the unlimited series of number being determined, it 
would be almost necessary, for the purpose of obtaining 
some fixed number, as implied by those terms, to adopt 
either two, the lowest degree of plurality in the first per- 
sonal pronoun both in Hebrew and Arabic, or to take the 
highest number of Gods with which human imagination 
has peopled the heavens. In the former case, the verse 
11* 



118 

has furnished one of the strong arguments of tri- 
nitarians; but they appear to forget that th 

cited might countenance the doctrine of the duality of I 

Godhead, entertained by Zirdusht and his I 

Bcnt'mir th (i the G d of evil, to bate 

joint! j created man, composed of a mixed natun 

and evil p would be consign nt 

with the Hindo bul there i 

in the words, i il ail 

pointing to Trii 

tending the bit h mid 

I*.- viewed in an old 

invol 

created man in In- which the singular 

number is distinctly □ The 

Lord pur i tod if one [*ord ; :" the 

whole of the < Hd Testament 

To those who arc tolerably versed in Hi hr< w and Ara- 
bic, | which is o U knsjsjsi 
fact, that in i! J md Mohummudi 
well as in common discourse, th* 
in a nngular ■ 
discourse is intended 

ly apparent from the tblloy \»>\\\ from 

the old Test imonl i ad from th 

ch. xxi. \er. 1, a If I 

given him a w Then his D 

his master shall bring him unto the Judges." Vera 9 th, 
M Bu1 if t lie oi were wont to push with his horn in time 

past, and it has heen testified to his Of ' i-, to Ids 

owner.) Isa. ch. \i. ver. 8, "Whom .-hall I *c>id ] and who 
will go for me.) 

So also in the Qoran, M Wc are (meaning Iain) i 
than the jugular vein." "Surely wt 
every thing id proportion." In these t . 
God is represented to have Bpoken in the plural nun, 
although Mohummud cannot he; supposed to have empl 
a mode of expression which he could have supposed capa- 
ble of being considered favourable to the Trinity." 

Appeal, See. p. 140-143. 



119 

kind of plural language was applied to the golden 
calf, which the children of Israel worshipped in 
the wilderness, — although it is very evident that 
there was but one calf made on that occasion. It 
is said, that the people brought their golden ear- 
rings to Aaron, " and he received them at their 
hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he 
had made it a molten calf: and they said, These 
be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out 
of the land of Egypt." Ex. xxxii. 4. The same 
plural language is repeated again in verse 8th, 
"These be thy gods, O Israel," &c. Aaron ex- 
cused himself to Moses by saying, " They said 
unto me, make us gods which shall go before us." 
ver. 23. " And I said unto them, Whosoever 
hath any gold let them break it off. So they gave 
it me : then I cast it into the fire, and there came 
out this calf" ver. 24. Can any rational mind 
pretend that the use of a plural noun and pronoun 
in this instance by the Israelites, proves that "/At* 
calf" was, in some sense, three calves, and at the 
same time only one calf? 

The belief in one self-existent, eternal, omnipo- 
tent, and omnipresent God, was the great and 
fundamental doctrine of the Jewish religion; and 
the writings of the Old Testament are full of pas- 
sages declaring that there is but one God, who is 
himself the Saviour and Redeemer of men. " I 



120 

am the Lord," says he, " and there is none else 
— there is no God besides me/' — " Tims saith the 
Lord, the Holy On< I, and his Maker." 

Is. xlv. 5, 11. "I, even I, am the Lord, and I 
sides me there is no Saviour." " Thus saith the 
Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel/' 
Is. xliii. 11, 14. These sentiments arc reiterafc 
and confirmed in the New Testament M Jei 
answered. The first of all the commandments is, 
Hear, Israel, the Lord our Gad is one Lord" 

"And the Bcribes said unto him, Well, 

thou hast said the truth, for there is one (Jod, and 
there is none other hut he:" ."Mark xii. 20, Bfej 
which proves that the .lews believed then, 01 tlicy 
do now, that he is one undivided Deity. 

We are told hy the highest authority, that "none 
is good save on< ; thai ifl God." Luke xviii. \\K 
The apostle Paul says, " Go I ifl 01 S. ,f <■ 1. iii. 
20. And the apostle Jink' Bays, M To the only 
wise God our Saviour, be glory and i do- 

minion and power, both now and ever." * r. \!.~). 

2. There are many names given to the I)r 
Being, in the Old and New T< , which 

are either expressive of his attributes, or descrip- 
tive of the various ways in which he has manifest- 
ed himself to the children of men, according to 
their several states and capacities. Thus he is 
called Jehovah, or self-existing ; and he is called 



121 

Jah, which means eternal. He is also called the 
King of Glory, the Lord of Hosts, and the Prince of 
Peace. To the wicked he appears as a consuming 
fire ; but to the faithful he becomes the Lord our 
righteousness, the Rock of ages, and the Saviour 
and Redeemer of his people. Yet, notwithstand- 
ing this variety of names which are given to the 
Divine Being, in both the Old and New Testa- 
ments, it is said by the prophet Zechariah, in al- 
lusion to the gospel day, " In that day there shall 
be one Lord, and his name one" Chap. xiv. 9. 
Which I understand to mean, that there shall be 
only one Divine power acknowledged, to whom 
all these various names are attributed. The name 
of the Lord is often used in scripture, to indicate 
the power or the presence of the Lord. Thus it 
is said, " The name of the Lord is a strong tower." 
Proverbs xviii. 10. n Thy name is as ointment 
poured forth." Cant. i. 3. " For that thy name 
is near thy works declare." Ps. lxxv. 1. " Be- 
hold, I send an angel before thee to keep thee in 
the way. Beware of him, and obey his voice, — 
provoke him not, for he will not pardon your 
transgressions, for my name is in him." Ex.xxiii. 
20, 21. 

From these and many other passages, I think 
it is clear, that to be baptized into the name of 
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 



132 

Ghost, signifies to be brought under the purifying 
influence of that one Divine power, whose mani- 
festations to the children of men are represi 
by these various names. I see no reason to con- 
clude that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are 
all distinct persons, because these names are all 
found in one sentence 

There are many other placet in the scriptures 
where the Divine Being ifl mentioned under dif- 
ferent names in OtM >eun : 
" Unto us a child is born, un; I jiven ■ 

and the government shall be upon his shoulder, 
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Coun- 
sellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, 
the Prince of Peace* 91 [a. iz. ,; . H< 
names mentioned, and according to the trinitariafl 
arguments, they imply / U in the 1 ' 

The rcdupliea;. common in the 

sacred writings. For example, tin .fames 

says : " Pure religion and undeliled befon 

and the Father^ is this." i. 'J7. And the a] 
Paul says: " Do all in the name of the Lord 
Jesus, giving thanks to Ood and far Father by 
him." Colos. iii. 17. lie also speaks in another 
place *'of God, and of the Father, and ofCh 
Col. ii. 2. From tin 

might conclude that God and the Father are two 
distinct persons ; but the apostolic doctrine was, 



123 

" There is but one God, the Father, of whom are 
all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom 
are all things, and we by him." 1 Cor. viii. 6. 

3. The attempt to prove that there are three 
persons in the Deity, by saying that different 
offices are assigned to the Father, and the Word, 
and the Holy Spirit, will not stand the test of 
scrutiny : for the scriptures ascribe precisely the 
same works to the Deity under each of these titles. 
For instance, the work of creation is ascribed, — 
first, to God: " In the beginning God created the 
heaven and the earth." Gen. i. 1. Secondly, to 
the Spirit of God: " The Spirit of God moved 
upon the face of the waters." Gen. i. 2. " Thou 
sendest forth thy spirit, they are created ; and 
thou renewest the face of the earth." Ps. civ. 30. 
Thirdly, to the wisdom of God : " By wisdom 
he made the heavens." Ps. cxxxvi. 5. " The 
Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth." Prov. 
iii. 19. Fourthly, to the Word of God: " All 
things were made by him." John i. 3. " By the 
word of God the heavens were of old, and the 
earth standing out of the water and in the water." 
2 Pet. iii. 5. Fifthly, to the Son of God: " He 
hath in these last days spoken unto us by his 
Son, by whom also he made the worlds." Heb. i. 
2. " God created all things by Jesus Christ." — 
Eph. iii. 9. 



124 

Here then, according to the trinitarian method 
of reasoning, arc live persons concerned in the 
work of creation. But according to my new there 
is only one God, whose holy power or Divine in- 
fluence is sometimes called the Spirit of God, or 
the Holy Spirit, because " I ." — ■ 

I called the Wisdom ot 

u in him arc hid all the b Bad 

knowledge." Col. ii. 8. It is lib d the 

Word of God : becai liom by which 

to man. And it is called tl 
God, and J 

this one Divine power that Jesus did the works 
Of God. H< said, M I can of mi: I If do 

nothing; as I hear I judge, and my judgment is 

JYMt, !>< caUse I i I k not mine own will, hut tlie 
will oi' the Father which N Ql me." John I 

II The words that I speak unto you, I speak not 

of myself, hut the Father that dux 
iloilli the. works." John xiv. 10. 
4. f I nis brings us to the last point o( 

ment, which relates to the union of the Divine 
and human natures in JeS08 Christ This union 

I fully acknowledge; hut I can see no m 

Calling it a hypostatics! union: for there IS M 

such language used by the inspired writers, and I 
believe that this, and other Latin names, (sncfa as 
trinity and triune God) have been used as blinds, 



125 

to conceal from the public the deplorable igno- 
rance of priests and professors in relation to divine 
things. They being ignorant of " that wisdom 
which is from above," (James iii. 17) have re- 
sorted to " the words which man's wisdom 
teacheth" in order to appear wise before men. 

The scriptures tell us, that " as many as are 
led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of 
God." Rom. viii. 14. " The Spirit itself beareth 
witness with our spirits, that we are the children 
of God : and if children, then heirs, heirs of God, 
and joint heirs with Christ." ver. 16, 17. They 
also teach us, that we may become " partakers of 
the Divine nature." 2 Peter i. 4. 

This union which takes place between God and 
all those who are born of his Spirit, is so perfect, 
that the church (or assembly of the righteous) is 
likened to a spiritual house, of which Christ 
is the " chief corner stone." 1 Pet. ii. 5, 6. — 
The apostle Paul, in addressing the Ephesians, 
says, " Ye are built upon the foundation of the 
apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being 
the chief corner stone ; in whom all the building, 
fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy tem- 
ple in the Lord ; in whom ye also are builded to- 
gether, for an habitation of God through the Spi- 
rit." ii. 20-22. 

The church is also compared to a body, hav- 
12 



126 

ing many members, of which Jesus Christ is the 
head. (Eph. iv. 15. — Gol. i. 18. — Rom. xii. 4, 5. 
1 Cor. xii. 12.) It appears to me, that the apos- 
tles considered " the man Christ Jesus," (1 Tim. 
ii. 5,) to be the chief member or head of the spi- 
ritual body, which is made up of the faithful ser- 
vants of God of all ages and nations ; and there- 
fore they speak of him as the " first-born among 
many brethren." Rom. viii. 29. This title does 
not refer to priority of birth, but to the dignity of 
his station ; for the first-born son among the Jews 
was the head of the family or tribe, and the heir 
of his father's authority. Isaac was called the 
"only begotten son," because he was Abraham's 
heir, although his brother Ishmael was born be- 
fore him. (Heb. xi. 17.) 

With these views, I can fully acknowledge not 
only the Divine Word or Logos, which dwelt in 
Jesus without measure, and which constituted 
him the anointed Saviour, but I can likewise ac- 
knowledge the sinless perfection of his human 
nature. It appears from the scriptures that he 
was miraculously born of a virgin, and, though he 
"was in all points tempted like as we are, yet 
without sin ;" (Heb. iv. 15) and he was " a man 
approved of God, by miracles, and wonders, and 
signs, which God did by him." Acts ii. 22. It is, 
however, very evident, that the t * two natures 



127 

were distinct" in him, as they^ are in all the sons 
of God ; for it is not possible that the Divine na- 
ture should suffer death, or be affected with agony 
of soul. 

I can further say with the apostle Paul, "Hence- 
forth know we no man after the flesh ; yea, though 
we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now 
henceforth know we him no more." 2 Cor. v. 16. 
And therefore, when I speak of Christ Jesus, or 
the Saviour, I mean that " unction from the Holy 
One" which reigned in Jesus, and " the mani- 
festation" of which " is given to every man to 
profit withal :" 1 Cor. xii. 7; for, "of his fulness 
have all we received, and grace for grace." John 
i. 16. " In him was life, and the life was the 
light of men. That was the true light which light- 
eth every man that comcth into the world." ver. 
4. 9. 

This Divine power, or word of God, is often 
called Christ by the writers of the New Testa- 
ment. For instance, Paul says of the children of 
Israel under Moses, that " they did all eat the 
same spiritual meat, and they did all drink the 
same spiritual drink ; for they drank of that spi- 
ritual rock that followed them, and that rock was 
Christ." 1 Cor. x. 4. 

Peter says that the prophets " prophesied of 
the grace that should come unto you, searching 



128 

what, or what manner of time, the spirit of Christ 
which was in them did signify; when it testified 
beforehand of the sufferings of Christ, and the 
glory that should follow." 1 Peter i. 11. There 
are a great many other passages in the New Tes- 
tament, where Christ is spoken of as that one 
Divine Spirit who manifests himself in man for 
our sanctiflcation and redemption. For example : 
" Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus 
Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates." 2 Cor. 
xiii. 5. " To whom God would make known 
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery 
among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you the 
hope of glory." Col. i. 27. "It pleased God to 
reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him 
among the heathen." Gal. i. 15, 16. " Ye are not 
in the flesh but in the spirit, if so be that the Spi- 
rit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have 
not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his." Rom. 
viii. 9. Here the Spirit of God and the Spirit of 
Christ, are spoken of as one and the same. 

In confirmation of this, the apostle goes on to 
say, " And if Christ be in you, the body is dead 
because of [or as to] sin ; but the spirit is alive, 
because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of 
him that raised up Jesus Christ from the dead, 
dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the 
dead, shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his 



129 

Spirit that dwelleth in you." ver. 10, 11. The 
same apostle says, " Because ye are sons, God 
hath sent forth the spirit of his Son into your 
hearts, crying Abba, Father." Gal. iv. 6. And 
again he says, " The Lord is that Spirit, and 
where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 
2 Cor. iii. 17. I might adduce many other pas- 
sages, to show that when the apostles speak of 
Christ, they often mean the anointing power of 
God's Spirit, or " the law of the spirit of life in 
Christ Jesus, which makes free from the law of 
sin and death," that " wars in our members." — 
Rom. viii. 2, and viii. 23. It is evident, that Jesus 
spake of his outward body merely as a temple in 
which this Divine power was manifested; for he 
said, " Destroy this temple, and in three days / 
will raise it up." " But he spake of the temple of 
his body." John ii. 19-21. In this prediction he 
spoke in the name of his Father ; for it is said in 
the scriptures that " he was raised up from the 
dead by the glory of the Father." Rom. vi. 4. — 
" This commandment have I received of my Fa- 
ther." John x. 18. And after he was risen, he 
said to Mary, " Go to my brethren, and say unto 
them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, 
and to my God and your God." John xx. 17. 

John. It appears that the same body which was 
crucified, rose again and ascended up to heaven, 
12* 



130 

and now sitteth on the right hand of God ; for he 
said, after his resurrection, " A spirit hath not 
flesh and bones, as ye see me have :" which shows 
that it was a human body. And it is also said, 
" He was taken up, and a cloud received him out 
of their sight." Acts i. 9. 

James. I think the circumstance of his being 
received up into a cloud, does not prove that the 
same body of flesh and bones was introduced into 
the spiritual world. As God is a pure " Spirit, 
without body, parts, or passions,"* it is very pos- 
sible that he changed his Son into his own like- 
ness, or that he gave him a spiritual body. When 
Elijah was translated, he was taken up by a cha- 
riot of fire and horses of fire, but I do not con- 
clude from this, that there are horses in heaven. 
I consider it a striking evidence of Divine power 
displayed on this occasion, to confirm the faith of 
Elisha. 

Jesus taught the Jews that Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, were then living. Matt. xxii. 32. Yet we 
have no reason to believe that their earthly bodies 
ever had been raised from the grave. What I un- 
derstand by the resurrection, as regards a future 
existence, is the soul being raised out of this state 
of mutability into a spiritual world, where it shall 

* Episcopal Articles. 



131 

receive either happiness or misery, " according to 
the deeds done in the body." 

Father. Perhaps we had best not indulge in 
much speculation on this subject, for " secret 
things belong unto the Lord our God, but the 
things which are revealed belong unto us and our 
children." 

The apostle Paul, on the subject of the resur- 
rection, says, " Now this I say, brethren, that 
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of 
God." 1 Cor. xv. 50. And the apostle John 
writes with still more caution, for he says, " Be- 
loved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth 
not yet appear what we shall be ; but when he 
cometh we shall be like him, for we shall see 
him as he is ; and every man that hath this hope 
in him, purifieth himself, even as he is pure." 1 
John iii. 2, 3. This ought to be the main object 
of our thoughts, to purify ourselves even as he is 
pure, in order that we may become the sons of 
God. "My little children," saith the apostle, 
" of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be 
formed in you." Gal. iv. 19. "There is one 
body, and one spirit, even as you are called in 
one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, 
one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is 
above all, through all, and in you all. But unto 
every one of us is given grace according to the 



132 

measure of the gift of Christ." Eph. iv. 4-7. 
" Till we all come, in the unity of the faith and 
of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a per- 
fect man, unto the measure of the stature of the 
fulness of Christ." ver. 13. This stature of the 
fulness of Christ consists, I believe, in a state of 
perfect obedience to the law of Divine love, by 
which means our minds may become so trans* 
formed by the spirit of Christ, as to be in unity 
with him, even as he is in unity with the Father; 
agreeably to the prayer of the blessed Jesus, when 
he said, "Holy Father, keep through thine own 
name, those whom thou hast given me, that they 
may be one as we are. As thou, Father, art in me, 
and I in thee, that they may be one in us." John 
xvii. 11, 21. "I will pray the Father," said he, 
" and he shall give you another Comforter, that 
he may abide with you for ever, even the Spirit 
of truth, whom the world cannot receive because 
it seeth him not, neither knoweth him : but ye 
know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall 
be in you. I will not leave you comfortless, I 
will come to you." John xiv. 16-18, 

Here we see that the same Holy Spirit which 
was in Jesus, and thus dwelt with the disciples, 
was to be manifested in them, for their comfort ; 
and not unto them only, but unto as many as 
should believe on him through their word. 



133 

John. If we consider the divine Word, or Spirit 
of Christ, to be the medium through which God 
reveals himself to man, does not this seem to im- 
ply that there are two Divine powers or persons ? 

Father. I will answer this question by asking 
another. What do men generally understand by 
the term nature, when they speak of the laws of 
nature and the powers of nature ? Do they mean 
that there is another power besides that of God, 
operating upon the material world ? 

John. I understand by it nothing more than the 
power of God, as continually displayed in the out- 
ward creation. 

Father. And so, when I speak of Christ or the 
Divine Word, I mean " the power of God and 
the wisdom of God," (1 Cor. i. 24,) as manifest- 
ed in the souls of men, to redeem them from all 
iniquity, and to bring them into his own glorious 
image of purity and love. This Divine power is 
represented under various figures or metaphors, 
in the scriptures ; but the most striking and beau- 
tiful is that of light. The apostle John says, 
" God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." 
And speaking of Christ he says, " In him was 
life, and the life was the light of men; that was 
the true light, which lighteth every man that 
cometh into the world." God is the great lumi- 



134 

nary or sun of his spiritual creation; and that 
power or influence by which he acts upon the 
souls of men, is called his light: "For whatso- 
ever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore 
he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from 
the dead, and Christ shall give thee light" Eph. 
v. 13, 14. As the light of the sun is the source 
of all the beauty that adorns the outward creation, 
and as the smallest ray of light contains in itself 
every colour of the rainbow; so this Divine light 
which emanates from God, is the source of every 
christian virtue, and "in it are hidden all the 
treasures of wisdom and knowledge." 

When we see such striking evidences of Divine 
power and goodness displayed in the government 
of the outward world, — clothing the earth with 
flowers and verdure in spring, with harvests in 
summer, and with fruits in autumn, — and preserv- 
ing the various tribes of animals through the se- 
verity of winter : when we feel assured that not 
even a sparrow falls to the ground without his 
notice ; — can we suppose that he withdraws his 
presence from the immortal part of his creature 
man? No; it is on the rational soul of man that 
he bestows his peculiar care ; it is there that his 
sensible presence is felt, and to him alone are we 
indebted for every holy aspiration after virtue, 
and every feeling of extended benevolence. And 



135 

he not only incites ns to goodness, but he reproves 
us for evil, and, as a tender father, he visits and 
revisits his erring children with " the reproofs of 
instruction, which are the way of life." 

" Thou art the source and centre of all minds, 
Their only point of rest, Eternal Word ! 
From thee departing they are lost, and rove 
At random, without honour, hope, or peace. 
From thee is all that soothes the life of man ; 
His high endeavour, and his glad success, 
His strength to suffer, and his will to serve. 
But O thou bounteous Giver of all good, 
Thou art of all thy gifts thyself the crown ! 
Give what thou canst, without thee we are poor ; 
And with thee rich, take what thou wilt away." 

Cowper. 

NOTE. 

There is one text which was not introduced 
nor alluded to in the foregoing conversation, be- 
cause its authenticity is now considered so doubt- 
ful that it has been abandoned by some of the 
most learned biblical critics. The following re- 
marks in relation to it are extracted from the com- 
mentary of Adam Clarke, a learned trinitarian 
writer. 

1 John v. 7. " For there are three that bear 
record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the 
Holy Ghost; and these three are one." 



136 

14 There are one hundred and thirteen (i 
M8S. extant, containing the first epistle of John, 
and this text is W& 
tivelve. It only exists in th( Vfontfortii, 

(a comparatively recent MS. already described." 

"All the Greek fathers omit the 

many of them quote both verse 6th and Bth, ap- 
plying them to the Trinity, Divinity of Christ, 
and the Holy Spirit.'' 

"The first place ; 
in the (ireek translation o! the acts of the council 
of Lateran, held A. 1). L216. ,f 

M The Latin fathers do not quote it, even where 
it would have greatly strengthened their 
ments, and where, had it existed, it might have 
been most naturalU 1. It is wanting in 

all the ancient rersions, the Vulgate excepted ; 
but the most ancient copies of this haw it not." 

11 It is wanting in the German translation of 
Luther, and in all the editions of it published dur- 
ing his lifetime. It is inserted in our early 
lish translations, hut with marks of doubtfulr. 

11 In short, it stands on no authority, sufficient 
to authenticate any part of a revelation professing 
to have come from God." 

[See Griesbaclis Greek Testament. ~] 



137 



CONVERSATION V. 



ON SALVATION BY CHRIST. 

James. In our last conversation, the attributes 
of the Divine Being and the Divinity of Christ, 
were discussed ; and I now feel desirous of being 
better informed respecting the Christian doctrine 
of salvation. 

Father. This is the most important subject that 
can possibly engage our attention; and we ought 
each one of us to take it into serious consideration, 
and endeavour to know by experience what it is 
to be saved from sin. It is an individual work; 
for "no man can save his brother, nor give to God 
a ransom for his soul;" but we must all "work 
out our own salvation with fear and trembling." 
Tnil. ii. 12. 

John. I should think this last quotation is not 
to be taken so literally as to imply that we can 
work out our own salvation without Divine as- 
sistance. 

Father. Certainly not. It only means that we 
should accept the offers of Divine grace, and 
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138 

heartily co-operate therewith: for the apostle says 
in the next verse, "It is God which worketh in 
you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure." 
After all that we can do, our salvation must be at- 
tributed to God : for although it cannot be done 
without us, it is equally certain that it cannot be 
done of ourselves. " By grace are ye saved, 
through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the 
gift of God." Eph. ii. 8. 

The first point to be considered in this inquiry 
is, What is salvation ? I think all must acknow- 
ledge, that it is a deliverance from the guilt and 
dominion of sin ; and consequently an exemption 
from the misery that is entailed upon sin, both 
here and hereafter. This view is confirmed by 
the whole tenour of the sacred writings ; and it 
appears that the special object of Christ's mission 
was "io save his people from their sins." Mat. i. 
21. A man cannot be truly said to be saved from 
his sins, while he is living in the daily practice 
of sinning. For " he that doeth righteousness is 
righteous;" but "he that committeth sin is of the 
devil." 1 John iii. 7, 8. The next inquiry is, 
"What is sin? The apostle John answers, "Sin 
is the transgression of the law." 1 John iii. 4. 
Well, what law is it that we are now living un- 
der ? It is not the law of Moses ; but the law of 
the new covenant, which is written in the heart. 



139 

For, " This is the covenant that I will make with 
the house of Israel after those days, saith the 
Lord ; I will put my laws into their mind, and 
write them in their hearts; and I will be to them 
a God, and they shall be to me a people ; and 
they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and 
every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord : 
for all shall know me, from the least to the great- 
est. For I will be merciful to their unrighteous- 
ness, and their sins and their iniquities will I re- 
member no more." Heb. viii. 10. Jer. xxxi. 33. 
It appears then, that sin is the transgression of 
this holy law: " for if our heart condemn us, God 
is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things;" 
but " if our heart condemn us not, then have we 
confidence towards God." 1 John iii. 20, 21. 

Now if we will revert to our own experience, we 
shall find that every transgression of this law writ- 
ten in the heart, is followed by condemnation and 
disquietude : for the Divine Author of our being 
has so constituted the human mind, that we never 
can be happy while in a state of disobedience to 
his holy law; therefore he says, "Thine own 
wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backsli- 
dings shall reprove thee." Jer. ii. 19. " Say ye 
to the righteous, it shall be well with him; for 
they shall eat the fruit of their doings : but wo 
unto the wicked, it shall be ill with him ; for the 



140 

reward of his hands shall be given him." Is. iii. 
10. " The work of righteousness shall be peace, 
and the effect of righteousness, quietness, and as- 
surance for ever.' 5 Is. xxxii. 17. This "peace 
of God, which passeth understanding;" this holy 
joy and serenity of mind, which springs from 
" the love of God shed abroad in the heart" is 
the only thing that can fill and satisfy the cravings 
of an immortal soul, which pants for the joys of 
eternal life. How important then is the inquiry, 
What is it that separates us from the Divine har- 
mony, and cuts us off from the joys of paradise? 
" Behold/' says the prophet, " your iniquities 
have separated between you and your God, and 
your sins have hid his face from you." Is. liv. 1. 
If sin separates the soul from God, it is clear that 
we cannot be united to him while we continue to 
be sinful: for "what communion is there be- 
tween light and darkness ? — what concord be- 
tween Christ and beliai?" But "thanks be to 
God for his unspeakable gift!" He not only sent 
his beloved Son into the world to " save his peo- 
ple from their sins," and to " destroy the works 
of the devil," (1 John iii. 8,) but he still reveals 
himself to man as a God "nigh at hand, a very 
present help in time of trouble;" and it is "through 
his mercy that he saves us, by the washing of re- 
generation and renewing of the Holy Ghost." All 



141 

he requires of man is, to repent of his sins by 
turning away from them, and to become obedi- 
ent to " the law of the spirit of life in Christ Je- 
sus, which makes free from the law of sin and 
death." This "law of sin and death," is the law 
which " wars in our members," (Rom. vii. 23, 
viii. 2,) and consists of " the lusts of the flesh, 
the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life, which 
are not of the Father, but of the world." It is 
needful that the power of God should be revealed 
in man, to overcome these spiritual enemies; and 
therefore his holy Word, or Spirit of truth, is sent 
to " convince the world of sin, of righteousness, 
and of judgment." This is that " grace of God 
which bringeth salvation, and hath appeared 
unto all men, teaching us, that denying ungod- 
liness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, 
righteously, and godly in this present world." 
He who lives in obedience to this Spirit of truth, 
or grace of God, will find a continual growth and 
increase of strength, by which he will be enabled 
to resist temptation and to work righteousness ; 
until, at length, it will become his study and de- 
light to do the Father's will, and glorify his name 
on earth. This is the Emmanuel state, in which 
God becomes the life of the soul : for he is the 
Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end 
of our salvation. " I am the Lord," he says, 
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142 

"and besides me there is no Saviour." Is. xliii. 
3, 11. " I am a just God and a Saviour: there 
is none besides me." Is. xlv. 15, 21, xlix. 26, 
Ix. 16. Hos. xiii. 4. Therefore, unto him, "the 
only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, 
dominion and power, both now and for ever." 
Jude, 25. 

John. These views appear to be consistent 
with the scriptures, as far as they go ; but it 
seems to me that a very important doctrine of 
Christianity still remains to be considered. I 
mean the doctrine of atonement. 

Father. I have been speaking of what I consi- 
der the doctrine of atonement or reconciliation. 
For it is admitted even by trinitarian writers, that 
44 the doctrine of atonement, as far as relates to 
sin, is nothing more than the doctrine of reconcili- 
ation." And indeed, in a sense agreeable to this, 
that of bringing into a state of concord and recon- 
ciliation, the word atonement itself had been ori- 
ginally used by our old English writers, with 
whom, according to Junius, Skinner, and John- 
son, it was written at-one-ment; — signifying to 
be at-one, or to come to an agreement. \_See 
Magee on Atonement, pp. 184, 186.] 

Now, it appears to me that God is altogether 
unchangeable himself, and perfectly pure and 



143 

holy; and therefore, the sinner cannot be in a 
state of concord and reconciliation with him, un- 
til his sinful nature is removed by " the washing 
of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost." 
Thus, " putting off the old man with his deeds, 
and putting on the new man, which is renewed 
in knowledge, after the image of him that created 
him." Col. iii. 9, 10. 

John, What I mean by the doctrine of atone- 
ment, is a belief in the vicarious sufferings of 
Jesus Christ, when he suffered death without the 
gates of Jerusalem, as a substitute for the whole 
human race ; in order to satisfy the offended jus- 
tice of God, and to render him propitious to guilty 
man. Adam, and all his posterity, having broken 
the law of God, it would have been necessary for 
the whole human race to have suffered eternal 
death, in order to satisfy the infinite justice of 
God ; but the Son of God offered himself as a sub- 
stitute for man, and agreed to pay the price of our 
redemption, by taking on him a human body, and 
suffering the pains of death. 

Father. As I said on a former occasion, those 
who profess to derive their doctrines entirely from 
the scriptures, ought to be very careful to adhere 
strictly to the text. Now we find no such lan- 
guage in the scriptures, as the vicarious sufferings 



of Jesus Christ ; nor do they say that he diet 
substitute for guilty man ; nor is ther 
guage in thi ich a con( 

be fairly drawn. T .in or- 

der that the guilty m 
sistent \vith the jusl the Dil IDC 

character. '* He that justificth and lie 

that cmali m 

initiation to the Lord." Prov. ivii. l 5« It i 

in the scriptures, that Christ died lor all m< 
there is not tin slightest intimation that hii 
ferings were intended to app ase the wrath, or 
satisfy the justice of God. Thi of Ins 

mission was to bear witness to the truth. "To 
this vwd was I bom," said he, 4i ami for this 

cause came 1 into the world, that I should bear 
witness unto the truth." John xviii. 37. Hut he 
could not bear witness to the truth, among that 
perverse and w 

himself to suffi ; !i ; and !;■ 

voluntarily offered hims. ll to die lor the salvation 
of mankind. His death did not change tin 
ings nor the purposes of God towards mankind; 
for God is altogether unchangeable. " In him is 
neither variableness nor shallow of turning:* 1 
he is always " kind, even to the unthankful and 
to the evil." 

The mission of Jesus Christ was itself the effect 



145 

of God's unchanging love to man ; for all the good 
that he did, was done by the power of God ope- 
rating through him. " I can of myself do nothing," 
said he; " my Father that dwelleth in me, he do- 
eth the works." "God was in Christ, reconciling 
the world unto himself, not imputing their tres- 
passes unto them, and hath committed unto us the 
word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambas- 
sadors for Christ," says the apostle, " as though 
God did beseech you by us ; we pray you in 
Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 2 Cor. 
v. 19, 20. There is not a word said in the scrip- 
tures, about God being reconciled to man by the 
death of his Son ; but it is man that must be re- 
conciled to God; for he has always loved man- 
kind : but man being at enmity with him, it is in 
man that the change must be wrought, and the 
reconciliation effected. One means which the Di- 
vine Being has made use of, in all ages of the 
world, to change the hearts of wicked men, has 
been the patience, the resignation, and the joy with 
which his faithful servants have suffered for his 
cause, when persecuted by the wicked. It was 
in this way that Jesus Christ and his apostles 
bore their testimony to the truth, and exemplified 
before men the goodness, the purity, and the love 
of that Divine Power, whose kingdom was estab- 
lished within them. It was in this way, too, that 



146 

the primitive christians, though generally poor, 
illiterate, and despised among men, were made 
the instruments of convincing mankind, and en- 
larging the Redeemer's kingdom. And if the 
kingdoms of this world shall ever " become the 
kingdoms of God and of his Christ," (as I be- 
lieve they will,) it must be effected by the holy 
living, the meek example, and the patient suffer- 
ings of the faithful. I can conceive of no other 
means so well calculated to touch the feelings and 
to convince the judgment, as the example of one 
who is actuated by the love of God in all things, 
and who is willing to "lay down his life for the 
brethren," and for the testimony of truth. 

We find that the holy living, the powerful preach- 
ing and the numerous miracles of Jesus, made but 
few converts, until he "laid down his life for the 
sheep," and sealed his testimony with his blood. 
It was then that many began to perceive that " his 
kingdom was not of this world, else would his 
servants fight." They were convinced that he 
had been actuated by Divine love in all that he 
did: and when the apostles, who were filled with 
the Holy Spirit, began to preach to the multitude, 
and showed them that " God had made that same 
Jesus whom they had crucified, both Lord and 
Christ," then " they were pricked in their hearts, 
and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apos- 



147 

ties, Men and brethren, what shall we do ?" Acts 
ii. 36, 37, And " the same day there were add- 
ed unto them about three thousand souls." ver. 41. 
Thus we see how the sufferings of the Messiah 
operated upon the people of that day, to reconcile 
them to God ; but it is the life and power of God 
that dwelt in Christ, which saves from sin : "for 
if when we were enemies," says the apostle Paul, 
" we were reconciled to God by the death of his 
Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be 
saved by his life." Rom. v. 10. For " in him was 
life, and the life was the light of men." John i. 4. 
It is this life of God, or " Spirit of truth" reveal- 
ed in the soul, which purifies and saves from sin. 
This life is sometimes spoken of as the blood ; 
for according to the Jewish law " the blood is the 
life." (Levit. xvii. 11, 14, — Gen. ix. 4, — Deuter. 
xii. 23.) And when Jesus told the people, "Ex- 
cept ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink 
his blood, ye have no life in you;" he did not al- 
lude to the flesh and blood of his outward body, 
but to the life and power of God which dwelt in 
him, and spake through him. In confirmation of 
this view, he said himself to his disciples, by way 
of explanation, "It is the Spirit which quickeneth; 
the flesh profiteth nothing : the words that I speak 
unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." John 
vi. 53, 63. 



148 

When the apostle John saw, in the Revelations, 
" a great multitude which no man could number, 
of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and 
tongues, who stood before the throne and before 
the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms 
in their hands," he was told, that these were they 
who had " come out of great tribulation," who 
had " washed their robes, and made them white 
in the blood of the Lamb." Rev. vii, 9. 14. Now, 
we cannot suppose that these robes were made of 
earthly materials ; nor will any one contend that 
the blood with which they were washed and made 
white, was the outward blood, shed upon mount 
Calvary. They were spiritual garments, and the 
blood too was spiritual ; it was the life or spirit of 
God which dwelt in Jesus ; and it is by this only 
that our hearts can be " sprinkled from an evil 
conscience." For " if the blood of bulls and of 
goats, and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the 
unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh; 
how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, 
through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without 
spot to God, purge your conscience from dead 
works to serve the living God !" Heb. ix. 13, 14. 
It appears very evident to me, that nothing of an 
outward character can purge the conscience, or 
purify the mind ; for these are spiritual, and re- 
quire spiritual agents to act upon them. 



149 

John. It appears to me that in this last quota- 
tion, the apostle alludes to the Jewish sacrifices 
of bulls and of goats, as being the types of that 
great sacrifice which Christ was to make of him- 
self once for all. The sacrifice of the scape-goat, 
once in the year, on the day of solemn expiation 
for the sins of the whole people, is generally con- 
sidered a striking type of the sacrifice of Christ, 
which it was intended to prefigure. Two goats 
were brought to the door of the tabernacle for a 
sin-offering, and the high priest cast lots upon 
them, which should be sacrificed to the Lord and 
which should be set at liberty. One of them was 
then put to death for a sin-offering for all the peo- 
ple, his blood was sprinkled upon the altar, and 
his body was burnt without the camp. The other 
goat was the scape-goat, on which the high priest 
laid his hands, confessing his sins and the sins of 
all the people ; he then sent him into the wilder- 
ness, to a place not inhabited, to be there set at 
liberty, and to bear the iniquities of the people. 
The first of these goats is supposed to have been 
intended to prefigure the death of Christ ; and the 
second, which was saved alive, to typify his resur- 
rection. 

Father. We are not informed in any part of the 

scriptures, that these goats were intended as types 

of Jesus Christ, and I can see no reason for such 
14 



150 

a conclusion. There are, however, several rea- 
sons which have convinced me that they had no 
such meaning. In the first place, the goat was 
never made use of as an emblem of purity or ho- 
liness ; but, on the contrary, always as an emblem 
of sin ; for our Saviour himself spoke of it in this 
way, when he said he would place the sheep on 
his right hand, and the goats (that is, the wicked) 
on his left. 2. The Messiah is spoken of under 
the figure of a lamb; and it is not possible that he 
could be typified by two natures so entirely oppo- 
site as the lamb and the goat. 3. It appears to 
me that these sacrifices were figures of spiritual 
things, and that the holy men of old understood 
them in that light; for we find that the more en- 
lightened they became, the less reliance they 
placed upon these outward ceremonies. 

The prophet Samuel said to Saul, " Hath the 
Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacri- 
fices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord ? Be- 
hold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hear- 
ken than the fat of rams." 1 Sam. xv. 22. The 
prophet Isaiah told the people that the Lord had 
no pleasure in their sacrifices, because their "hands 
were full of blood," and he exhorts them, in the 
name of the Most High, to put away the evil of 
their doings. — "Cease to do evil, learn to do 
well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed; judge 



151 

the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, 
and let us reason together, saith the Lord ; though 
your sins be as scarlet, they, shall be as white as 
snow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall 
be as wool." But the language of Jeremiah is 
still more decided against placing any dependance 
upon outward sacrifices. " Thus saith the Lord 
of hosts, the God of Israel ; Put your burnt offer- 
ings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. For I 
spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them 
in the day that I brought them out of the land of 
Egypt, concerning burnt-offerings or sacrifices : 
but this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey 
my voice, and I will be your God and ye shall be 
my people ; and walk in all the wa)^s that I have 
commanded you, that it may be well with you." 
Jer. vii. 21-23. 

King David, when he had committed a great 
sin, exclaimed in the depth of his contrition, 
" Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew 
a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from 
thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from 
me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, 
and uphold me with thy free spirit." " Thou de- 
sirest not sacrifice, else would I give it ; thou de- 
lightest not in burnt -offerings . The sacrifices of 
God are a broken spirit ; a broken and a contrite 



152 

hearty O God, thou wilt not despise." Psalm 
li. 10-12. 16, 17. 

It appears that whenever an animal was sacri- 
ficed according to the Mosaic law, the blood was 
sprinkled upon the altar; " for the life of the flesh 
is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon 
the altar, to make an atonement for your souls : 
for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for 
the soul. Therefore, I said unto the children of 
Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall 
any stranger that sojourneth among you eat 
blood." Lev. xvii. 11. Now, "it is not possible," 
says the apostle Paul, " that the blood of bulls and 
of goats should take away sins." Heb. x. 4. — 
Therefore, the hearts of the people were not pu- 
rified by those offerings, unless they came to ex- 
perience in themselves that "sacrifice of God, a 
broken and a contrite spirit," which these out- 
ward offerings were intended to represent. For 
as the blood of beasts, which is the life thereof, 
was to be sacrificed to God ; so the carnal nature 
in man, or the life of the flesh, must be sacrificed 
by being broken and contrited before the Lord, 
through the power of his spirit. " They that are 
Christ's," says the apostle Paul, " have crucified 
the flesh with its affections and lusts." Gal. v. 24. 
" Our old man is crucified with him, that the body 
of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we 



153 

should not serve sin." Rom. vi. 6. This " old 
man," or carnal nature in man, has always been 
produced in every individual when he has placed 
his affections upon earthly things, and become 
subject to the " lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the 
eye, and the pride of life, which are not of the 
Father, but of the world." If, then, we would 
be redeemed from these things, we must be wal- 
ling to submit to the death of the cross ; that is, to 
have all our animal appetites, and all our selfish 
desires, subjected to the power of God which is 
revealed within. For the cross of Christ is the 
power of God ; and it is by this power that we 
must be " crucified to the world, and the world 
unto us." This " death unto sin," takes place in 
all who come to know Christ "the resurrection 
and the life." " I protest by your rejoicing," says 
the apostle, " which I have in Christ Jesus our 
Lord, I die daily." 1 Cor. xv. 31. "I am cru- 
cified with Christ : nevertheless I live ; yet not 
I, but Christ liveth in me." Gal. ii. 20. Know 
ye not, that as many as are baptized into Christ, 
are baptized into his death. Rom. vi. 3. This 
death is not the death of the outward body; for he 
says of Christ, "In that he died, he died unto 
sin once; but in that he liveth, he liveth unto 
God." Rom. vi. 10. How did he die unto sin ? 
Was it not by suppressing or subduing the first 
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154 

motions or propensities to sin, as they rose in his 
heart ? " For we have not an high priest that can- 
not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities ; 
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet 
without sin." Heb. iv. 15. And how are we 
tempted ? The apostle James tells us, " Let no 
man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of 
God ; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither 
tempteth he any man : but every man is tempted 
when he is drawn away of his own lusts, (or de- 
sires,) and enticed. Then when lust hath con- 
ceived it bringeth forth sin ; and sin when finished, 
bringeth forth death." These desires and pro- 
pensities of our nature do not become sinful until 
they are perverted from their original purpose; 
and in Jesus Christ they never did become so, 
for he kept them all in subjection to the will of 
God. They are all good when kept under the 
Divine government; for they are then calculated 
to subserve those purposes for which they were 
created. Like the animals in paradise, they are 
all at peace with man, and in obedience to him. 
And the reign of Christ is intended to bring us 
back to that state in which " the wolf shall dwell 
with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with 
the kid, and the calf, and the young lion, and the 
fading together, and a little child shall lead them." 
Is. xi. 6. While man remained in paradise, in a 



155 

state of innocence, he offered no animals in sacri- 
fice to God ; for these were only added or intro- 
duced because of transgression: and when Jesus 
Christ appeared to promulgate and exemplify the 
new-covenant dispensation, he took away the 
hand-writing of ordinances, and showed that the 
whole intention of the old law was fulfilled in 
loving God supremely, ana our neighbour as our- 
selves : for" on these two commandments hang 
all the law and the prophets. " Matt. xxii. 40. 

The old covenant, being an outward law, the 
vessels used in the service of the temple, and the 
priests with their garments, were purified by 
sprinkling with outward blood, "which is the 
life of the flesh ;" but the new covenant, being an 
inward law, " placed in the mind, and written in 
the heart," (Heb. viii. 10,) it was necessary that 
the soul itself should be purified with better offer- 
ings than these, — even with " the blood of the 
Lamb," which is the life or spirit of Christ re- 
vealed within us. 

James. As the mind of man is spiritual, it ap- 
pears very plain to me, that it cannot be washed 
or purified by any thing of an external nature. — 
If " nothing that goeth into the mouth dejileth the 
man," it is equally plain that nothing that is taken 
into the mouth, or applied to the body, can puri- 
fy the man from sin. And it is equally impossi- 



156 

ble that any outward sacrifice could produce a 
change in the Divine mind; for we have abun- 
dant evidence that he is " the same yesterday, 
to-day, and forever," and that he is always wait- 
ing to be gracious to the repenting sinner. His 
dealings with man are beautifully exemplified in 
the parable of the prodigal son, who had wandered 
far from his father's house, and spent his substance 
in riotous living. When he came to himself, and 
determined to go back to his father, confessing 
his sins and offering to become as one of the 
hired servants, his father did not stand off and or- 
der him to be punished, neither did he lay his 
punishment upon the other son who had been 
faithful ; but his compassion was awakened by his 
penitence and the sufferings he had already brought 
upon himself, and " while he was yet a great way 
off, he ran and fell on his neck and kissed him." 
Luke, xv. 20. 

Father. The character of the parent, as repre- 
sented in this parable, answers exactly to my view 
of the Divine character, and it corresponds entire- 
ly with the character of Jesus Christ who was 
filled with the Divine perfections. But the doc- 
trine that God cannot, or will not forgive sins 
without a compensation, — and that man not being 
able to make this compensation, it was made by 
Jesus Christ who was appointed or given up to 



I 



157 

be killed for this purpose, is so inconsistent with 
the Divine character, that I cannot reconcile it to 
my feelings ; — it appears to me to deprive the 
Deity of that infinite love which is his most en- 
dearing attribute: and if a human parent were to 
act upon the same principles towards his children, 
we could not justify his conduct. 

John, The advocates of this doctrine say, it was 
necessary that the infinite justice of God should 
be satisfied for the sin of Adam, and for our sins; 
and they allege, that man being finite, could not 
make an infinite satisfaction. 

Father, But I cannot see how man who is 
finite, could commit an infinite offence; and if 
nothing less than infinite satisfaction would an- 
swer, then God must die to satisfy his own jus- 
tice ; for he is the only infinite Being. But this 
conclusion is too absurd to be for a moment ad- 
mitted. 

John. It was only the human nature which 
was united to God, that died. It is impossible for 
the Deity to die. 

Father. If, then, it was only human nature that 
died, what becomes of the infinite satisfaction? 
It is clear to my mind, that when the sinful na- 
ture in man is slain by the power or word of 
God being raised into dominion in us, then is the 



158 

Divine justice satisfied ; for there is nothing vin- 
dictive in the character of the Deity. He does 
not afflict his creatures for any other purpose than 
their own reformation; and when that reformation 
is effected, he is always ready to pardon his re- 
penting children. Even among men, the reforma- 
tion of criminals is now considered by the humane 
to be the main object of all the punishments in- 
flicted upon them ; and if we could be certain, in 
any case, that a thorough change of heart had been 
effected, it would be our duty to receive back the 
offender into society. But God can see the heart ; 
and he not only sees it, but his spirit still strives 
with man, in order to reclaim him from the evil 
of his ways; and we have the assurance that he 
takes no pleasure in the death of the sinner, but 
desires that he may return, repent and live. " If 
the wicked will turn from all the sins that he hath 
committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that 
which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he 
shall not die ; all his transgressions that he hath 
committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him." 
Ezek. xviii. 21. " If we confess our sins, he is 
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to 
cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 Johni. 9. 
This is a very different view of Divine justice 
from that which too generally prevails in Christen- 
dom. The doctrines of imputative sin, and im- 



159 

putative righteousness, appear to me to be deroga- 
tory to the Divine character ; and I think they 
must have an injurious effect upon the human 
mind, because they have a tendency to blind or 
obliterate all the distinctions of right and wrong. 
In the first place, this scheme, as it is called, 
charges upon the whole human race, even upon 
little children, the guilt of Adam's transgression. 
In the second place, it transfers all this guilt, by 
imputation, to Jesus Christ, the pure and spotless 
Son of God; and what is still more absurd, it im- 
putes the righteousness of Christ to all mankind 
who can believe that he died as their substitute. 
Now, I believe that God regards every human 
soul without respect of persons. He sees the 
wicked as they are, and likewise the righteous; 
and his language still is, " The righteousness of 
the righteous shall be upon him, and the wicked- 
ness of the wicked shall be upon him." Ezek. 
xviii. 20. The only true ground of acceptance, 
is the new-birth : for when Christ's kingdom is 
established within us, then his righteousness be- 
comes ours ; not by imputation, but by our be- 
coming really " partakers of the Divine nature." 

John. There are several passages in the scrip- 
tures which appear to militate against these views, 
and to confirm those which I advanced; and I 
cannot see how they can be explained in any 



160 

other way. I think Christ is often spoken of as 
a sacrifice offered to God ; it is said, " he was 
once offered to bear the sins of many." " He 
hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, 
that we might be made the righteousness of God 
in him." "Christ also hath once suffered, the 
just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." 
The prophet Isaiah says, " Surely he hath borne 
our griefs, and carried our sorrows ; yet did we 
esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. 
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he 
was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of 
our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we 
are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray, 
we have turned every one to his own way, and 
the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all." 
This language must allude to Christ, for the apos- 
tle Peter quotes it and applies it to him: " Who 
his own self bare our sins in his own body on 
the tree." 1 Peter ii. 24. 

Father. It is true that the death of the Mes- 
siah is often spoken of as a sacrifice offered to 
Gbd ; but the same term is applied by the apos- 
tle Paul to his own expected martyrdom : for he 
says, "lam ready to be offered." 2 Tim. iv. 6. 
And again he says, " If I be offered upon the 
sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and re- 
joice with you all." Phil. ii. 17. The same kind 



161 

of figurative language is still used, but no one ever 
thinks of taking it literally. For instance, it may- 
be said that many of the reformers sacrificed their 
lives in the cause of truth ; and that religious lib- 
erty has been purchased with the blood of the 
martyrs. We all know how to understand this 
language, and why may we not conclude that the 
Jews used it in the same sense? It is very obvi- 
ous that Paul used it in this sense, when he spoke 
of himself being offered up as a sacrifice. 

The other passages which speak of the Mes- 
siah bearing the sins of many; being made sin for 
us; suffering for the unjust; and having laid on 
him the iniquity of all, — -will admit of a very dif- 
ferent interpretation from that which has been 
given to them by the advocates of a vicarious 
atonement, and one that is far more consistent 
with the Divine character. They do not say that 
the sins of others were imputed to him, nor that 
he suffered, as a substitute, the punishment that 
was due to others. I take it that he bore the suf- 
ferings which the iniquity of the Jews inflicted 
upon him; and these sufferings were both mental 
and corporeal. " He became a man of sorrows, 
and acquainted with grief." He was baptized 
into a state of deep sympathy and suffering for a 
fallen world. I have no doubt that the agony he 
endured in the garden, was owing to the deep 
15 



162 

sense he then had of the wickedness of man ; for 
he said, " My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even 
unto death." These spiritual sufferings appear 
to have been experienced in some degree by the 
apostles, when they afterwards became "baptized 
into Christ," and were " buried with him by bap- 
tism into death." Rom. vi. 3, 4. For Paul says 
to the Colossians, "I now rejoice in my suffer- 
ings for you, and fill up that which is behind of 
the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for his body's 
sake, which is the church." Col. i. 24. The true 
ministers of the gospel must, at times, be baptized 
into the states of the people, in order that they 
may minister to their wants; for the whole church 
is represented as one body, and " whether one 
member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or 
one member be honoured, all the members rejoice 
with it. Now ye are the body of Christ," says 
the apostle, " and members in particular." 1 Cor. 
xii. 26. They who are willing thus to suffer and 
to labour in the cause of truth, offer up to God an 
acceptable sacrifice, whether it be in living to his 
glory, or in dying for his cause. 

The prophecy of Isaiah (chap, liii.) which has 
been quoted, appears to have been understood in 
a figurative sense by the evangelist Matthew, and 
he has thrown much light upon the meaning of 
it. He says, " When the even was come, they 



163 

brought unto him many that were possessed with 
devils; and he cast out the spirits with his word, 
and healed all that were sick: that it might be ful- 
filled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, 
saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare 
our sicknesses." Matt. viii. 16, 17. 

Now let us inquire how he took their infirmi- 
ties, and bare their sicknesses? Assuredly, not 
by becoming himself infirm and sick, nor by hav- 
ing his health imputed to them: but he "cast them 
out by his word," which was the "power of God 
and the wisdom of God." And in like manner 
the same Divine word, or power of God, still 
bears our iniquities ; not by imputation, but by 
healing our spiritual diseases, and casting out 
every evil spirit from our minds, if we have faith 
in him and obey his law. 

With these views, I can readily subscribe to all 
that is said of Christ in the New Testament; for 
it appears that not only his spotless life and pow- 
erful preaching, but still more the sublime exam- 
ple of his sufferings, were all calculated to operate 
upon the best feelings of mankind, and to bring 
them to the knowledge of God. 

The doctrine that Jesus Christ suffered as a 
substitute for sinners, and paid the penalty of 
death that was denounced against Adam for trans- 
gression, is equally contrary to reason, and incon- 



164 

sistent with the scriptures. In the first place, it 
must be borne in mind, that the death which was 
denounced against Adam for transgression, was 
not the death of the natural body; or else it w r ould 
have taken place agreeably to the prediction of 
the Most High — "In the day thou eat est thereof \ 
thou shalt surely die." 

I have shown, in a former conversation, that this 
death did take place at the time predicted, and 
that it was a death in the soul ; for, " to be car- 
nally minded is death" It was a being "dead 
in trespasses and sins;" — and it is evident that 
Jesus never did die this death, for he never sin- 
ned. 

That he should suffer an outward death, in or- 
der to take away the effects of an inward one, is 
contrary both to reason and to scripture. " Shall 
I give my first-born for my transgression ? — the 
fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ?" Micah 
vi. 7. Yet the authors of this doctrine would 
take the fruit of Adam's body, (for the Messiah 
"was made of the seed of David [and consequent- 
ly of Adam] according to the flesh," Rom. i. 3,) 
and they would offer it up for the sin of Adam's 
soul ! But let us suppose for a moment, that 
it was the death of the natural body that was 
denounced against Adam for transgression ; did 
Christ's suffering in his stead prevent him from 



165 

dying? Certainly not: for "all the days that 
Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, 
and he died." And all his posterity continue to 
die, notwithstanding the debt being paid for us, 
according to this strange doctrine of man's inven- 
tion. 

James. I think that Jesus Christ is spoken of 
in the scriptures, as the "one mediator between 
God and man," and as u the mediator of the new 
covenant." What are we to understand by these 
expressions ? 

Father. This question may be answered in the 
language of George Fox, who says that " None 
know Him as a mediator and a lawgiver, nor an 
offering, nor his blood that cleanseth them, but as 
they know him working in them." Vol. 3, p. 119, 
120. As God is a spirit, and the soul of man is 
spiritual, it appears evident that the mediator (or 
medium of intercourse) between God and man 
must be spiritual. 

The eternal word, or spirit of Christ revealed 
in the soul, is our advocate and our intercessor. 
For " the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities : for 
we know not what we should pray for as we 
ought, but the spirit itself maketh intercession for 
us, with groanings which cannot be uttered ; and 
he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the 
15* 



166 

mind of the spirit, because he maheth intercession 
for the saints according to the will of God." Rom. 
viii. 26, 27. "As the word manifested in the flesh, 
or become man, is the one mediator or restorer of 
union between God and man ; so, to seeing eyes 
it must be evident, that nothing but this one me- 
diatorial nature of Christ, essentially brought to 
life in our souls, can be our salvation through 
Christ Jesus. For that which saved and exalted 
that humanity in which Christ dwelt, must be 
the salvation of every human creature in the 
world." (See Law's Address to the Clergy, p. 
51.) "It is the spirit, the body, the blood of 
Christ within us, that is our whole peace with 
God, our whole adoption, our whole redemption, 
our whole justification, our whole glorification ; 
and this is the one thing said and meant by that 
new birth of which Christ saith, Except a man 
be born again from above he cannot enter into the 
kingdom of God. Now the true ground why all 
that is said of Christ in such a variety of expres- 
sions, hath only one meaning, and pointeth only 
to one and the same thing, is this ; it is because 
the whole state and nature of fallen man wants 
only one thing, and that one thing is a real birth 
of the Divine nature, made living again in him as 
at the first: and then all is done that can be done, 



' 



167 

hy all the mysteries of the birth and whole pro- 
cess of Christ for our salvation." 

"Ail the law, the prophets, and the gospel are 
fulfilled, when there is in Christ a new creature, 
having life in and from him as really as the 
branch hath its life in and from the vine." (Ibid. 
p. 47.) 

This union of the soul with God, by obedience 
to the manifestations of his spirit within us, is 
the whole sum and substance of the Christian re- 
ligion. It was this which the blessed Messiah 
came to preach and exemplify; for the new cove- 
nant of which he was the minister, is not like the 
old law written upon tables of stone, but it is a 
spiritual law "placed in the mind and written in 
the heart;" therefore he said when he began to 
preach, " The spirit of the Lord is upon me, be- 
cause he hath anointed me to preach the gospel 
to the poor ; he hath sent me to heal the broken- 
hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and 
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty 
them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable 
year of the Lord." Luke iv. 18. 

How plain and practical was his preaching ! 
■" The kingdom of God," said he, " cometh not 
with observation, for behold it is within you." 
" Except a man be born again, he cannot see the 
kingdom of God." The kingdom which he 



168 

preached is a spiritual kingdom ; it is the domin- 
ion of God established in the soul, bringing forth 
" righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spi- 
rit." This practical and experimental part of re- 
ligion is the only one in which the pious and 
faithful in all ages have agreed ; — it is the only 
part that is essential to salvation; and the best 
evidence we can give of its possession is, by 
showing forth the fruits of righteousness in our 
life and conversation ; for the tree will be known 
by its fruit. 



CONVERSATION VI. 






BAPTISM AND THE LORDS SUPPER. 

James. Since our last conversation, I have 
been reflecting on the subjects of baptism and the 
Lord's supper, which appear to have been ceremo- 
nies practised in the primitive Christian church, 
and are said to have been commanded by Christ 
himself. If they have such high authority for 
their observance, I do not see how any of the 
professed followers of Christ in the present day 
can disregard them. 



169 

Father, I am willing to state my views upon 
these subjects, and give the grounds on which my 
own convictions are founded ; but I have seen so 
little good resulting from religious controversy 
that I always abstain from it when possible. — 
During the progress of an argument on any reli- 
gious subject, the minds of both parties are gener- 
ally too much excited to be open to conviction. 
Changes of sentiments on these subjects, are gen- 
erally the result of deliberation, and communion 
with the witness for truth in our own consciences; 
and it often happens that the conclusions formed 
in this manner, although accompanied with suf- 
ficient weight of evidence for the satisfaction of 
our own minds, cannot be stated to others in such 
a manner as to satisfy them, until they shall have 
passed through the same stages of experience. 

John. I think I can appreciate the soundness 
of this sentiment, for I know, by experience, that 
some religious truths which now appear very clear 
to my understanding, were at a former period the 
subjects of much doubt; although I endeavoured 
to become acquainted with the strongest argu- 
ments that had been advanced for them, and felt 
a sincere desire to weigh them impartially. The 
subject of baptism is one on which my mind is 
not .satisfied ; and being desirous of conforming 



170 

to all the commands of our Saviour, I have long 
been anxious for further light upon it. 

Father. I have no doubt the Divine Master is 
now subjecting thee to the purifying process of 
his own baptism ; and if thou art able to " drink 
of the cup that he drank of, and to be baptized 
with his baptism" there will be no need of re- 
sorting to the outward and elementary type of 
that cleansing operation which his spirit performs- 
within us. 

James. I believe it is now agreed by most of 
those who administer water-baptism, that it makes 
no change in the heart, but is an outward and visi- 
ble sign of an inward and invisible grace. They 
think it was commanded by Christ, and intended 
as a badge of our profession, and a seal of the 
covenant, as circumcision was given to the Is- 
raelites. 

Father. I think if this were the case, we should 
find it mentioned in some of the writings of the 
New Testament; but it is not spoken of as the 
seal of the new covenant, nor can it be considered 
as the badge of Christian profession, because it 
leaves no impression to distinguish those who 
have received it from the rest of the world. The 
only seal of the new covenant is " the "Holy Spi- 
rit, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of re- 



171 

demption:" (Eph. iv. 30) and the only badge of 
discipleship mentioned by the Divine Master, 
consists of the fruits which are produced by the 
influence of this spirit. " By this shall all men 
know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love 
one to another;" — and "Ye shall know them by 
their fruits." 

John. The command of Christ to his disciples, 
"Go teach all nations, baptizing them in the name 
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost," is considered by most persons as still 
obligatory upon the church. 

Father. But in this text, wafer-baptism is not 
mentioned ; and it appears that the writers of the 
New Testament speak of the baptism of John 
and that of Christ, as distinct from each other. 
John said to the Jews, " I indeed baptize you 
with water unto repentance, but he that cometh 
after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not 
worthy to bear, he shall baptize you with the 
Holy Ghost and with fire ; whose fan is in his 
hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor and 
gather his wheat into the garner, but he will burn 
up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Matt. iii. 
11, 12. It is also said that when Paul came to 
Ephesus he found certain disciples, of whom he 
inquired, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since 



172 

ye believed ? And they said unto him, We have 
not so much as heard whether there be any Holy 
Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then? 
were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's^ 
baptism. Then said Paul, John baptized with the- 
baptism of repentance, saying unto the people,. 
That they should believe on him which should 
come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When 
they heard this, they were baptized in the name 
of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his 
hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; 
and they spake with tongues, and prophesied* 
And all the men were about twelve." Acts xix* 
2-7. 

James. It seems to me that none can baptize 
with the Holy Ghost but Christ himself: and in 
the text just quoted, it appears that these new 
converts had been baptized with John's baptism 
unto repentance, and Paul had them baptized 
again in the name of the Lord Jesus ; and after 
that he laid his hands on them, and they received 
the Holy Ghost. May we not conclude that Paul 
used water in this instance ? 

Father. I think not : for there were twelve of 
these disciples who were men ; and Paul says in 
another place, that Christ had sent him not to 
baptize, but to preach the gospel ; and he thank- 



173 

ed God that he had baptized none of them but 
Crispus and Gaius, and the household of Ste- 
phanus. (1 Cor. i. 14, 16.) Although it may be 
said in one sense, that none can baptize with the 
spirit but Christ himself, the same may be said 
of preaching the gospel ; which no man can do 
without Divine assistance. When the gospel is 
preached " in the demonstration of the spirit and 
of power," it has a baptizing influence; that is 
to say, it brings the hearers who are willing to 
receive it, under the influence of Divine love, and 
they become " baptized by one spirit into one 
body," and " are all made to drink into one spi- 
rit." (1 Cor. xii. 13.) The apostles were not 
prepared to administer this spiritual baptism, until 
they had waited at Jerusalem, and were endued 
with power from on high, by the descending up- 
on them of the Holy Ghost. And notwithstand- 
ing the miracles have ceased, which accompanied 
that baptism at the dawn of the gospel day, — yet 
the reality of it is as truly experienced now, by 
those who come under the influence of the spirit 
of Christ. Although Paul was not sent forth to 
baptize with water, there is no doubt his commis- 
sion was as extensive as that of the other disci- 
ples ; for he was clothed with Divine love, and 
was made instrumental in bringing others under 
its baptizing influence. This still continues to be 
16 



174 

the ease with true gospel ministry, in proportion 
as the instrument is endowed with the ability 
which God giveth ; for such ministry has always 
had a baptizing power. 

John. But although water is not mentioned in 
these texts, there is another place where it is men- 
tioned by Jesus himself. He said to Nicodemus, 
"Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, 
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." John 
iii. 5. 

Father. It must be observed, that on this oc- 
casion he had not been speaking of baptism, but 
of the nevj birth; and he goes on to say,. " That 
which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which 
is born of the Spirit is spirit." As the expression 
cannot be taken literally, it must be understood 
figuratively; that is, water being a purifying ele- 
ment, was coupled with the Spirit to describe its 
effects, in the same manner that fire was mention- 
ed in conjunction with the Holy Spirit, by John 
the Baptist, when he said of Christ, " He shall 
baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." 
Therefore the water here intended which can give 
a new birth, must be the water of the river of life, 
which whosoever drinketh shall never thirst. 

James. But water-baptism was frequently, if 
not always, administered by the disciples, both 



175 

before and after the crucifixion of Christ : and we 
know that Jesus himself submitted to the baptism 
of John. 

Father. This argument, if valid in favour of 
water-baptism, is equally so with regard to cir- 
cumcision, and other rituals of the Jewish law; 
to all of which the Messiah submitted. 

We find that when Paul went up to Jerusalem, 
about twenty-seven years after the ascension of 
Christ, the disciples said to him, " Thou seest, 
brother, how many thousands of Jews there are 
which believe, and they are all zealous of the 
law" And Paul condescended to their prejudices 
so far as to purify himself, and to enter with four 
others into the temple, " until an offering should 
be offered for every one of them." It appears 
further, that Peter was so filled with Jewish pre- 
judices, eight years after the ascension of Christ, 
that it required a remarkable vision to convince 
him that he ought to go unto the house of Corne- 
lius to preach the gospel ; and after he had done 
so, " they of the circumcision contended with 
him, saying, Thou wentest in unto men uncircum- 
cised, and didst eat with them." 

I mention these circumstances to show, that 
even the apostles, as well as the other Jewish 
converts to Christianity, did not at once come 
into the spirituality of the gospel dispensation, 



176 

but retained for a considerable time a number of 
the Jewish rites and ceremonies ; and no doubt 
they adhered with equal fondness to the water- 
baptism of John. It is said of Apollos, that being 
" fervent in the spirit, he taught diligently the 
things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of 
John. And he began to speak boldly in the syna- 
gogue ; whom when Aquila and Priscilla had 
heard, they took him unto them, and expounded 
unto him the way of God more perfectly." Acts 
xviii. 25, 26. 

John. It is said in the scriptures, that the dis- 
ciples administered water-baptism w T hile the Mas- 
ter was with them ; consequently we may sup- 
pose he did not disapprove of it. 

Father. In this passage it is stated, " When 
therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had 
heard that Jesus made and baptized more disci- 
ples than John, (though Jesus himself baptized 
not, but his disciples,) he left Judea, and departed 
again into Galilee." John iv. 1, &c. John was 
at that time baptizing in or near iEnon, where 
there was much water; and I have no doubt the 
disciples were influenced by his example, and by 
that activity in religious performances which new 
converts are apt to exhibit ; but it appears that 
Jesus himself did not engage in it, nor would it 



177 

have been consistent with his mission to have 
taken up the baptism of John, which was only a 
type of his own spiritual baptism; therefore, when 
he knew the report which the Pharisees had 
heard, he removed into another place. 

James. It is, however, asserted, that the prac- 
tice of the Christian churches, from the time of 
the apostles down to the present day, has (with 
the single exception of the Society of Friends,) 
been all in favour of water-baptism, either by 
sprinkling or immersion. 

Father. John the Baptist said of Christ, " He 
must increase, but I must decrease ;" which no 
doubt alluded to the two dispensations which they 
administered : and accordingly it has always been 
found, that the more completely the mind is 
brought under the purifying and baptizing power 
of Christ, the less dependance is placed upon any 
outward rite or ceremony. Of this we have a re- 
markable example in the apostle Paul, who saw 
beyond the types and shadows of a former dis- 
pensation, and perceived that the spiritual king- 
dom of Christ contained the substance of them all. 

The service under the Mosaic law, " stood 

only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, 

and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the 

time of reformation" Heb. ix. 10. Therefore, 

16* 



178 

this experienced apostle says, "Let no man judge 
you in meat or in drink, or in respect of an holy 
day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days; 
which are a shadow of things to come ; but the 
body is of Christ." Col. ii. 16, 17. "Wherefore, 
if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of 
the world, why, as though living in the world, are 
ye subject to ordinances (touch not, taste not, 
handle not, which all are to perish with the using) 
after the commandments and doctrines of men ? 
Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in 
will-worship and humility, and neglecting of the 
body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the 
flesh." ver. 20-23. 

Paul expressed his thankfulness that he had 
used water-baptism but in a few instances, which 
he mentioned ; because he was not sent forth to 
administer this ceremony, but to preach the gos- 
pel, and to bring men under the baptizing power 
of the Holy Spirit. He says, there is "One Lord, 
one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of 
all, who is above all, and through all, and in you 
all." Eph. iv. 5, 6. Now, if there be but one bap- 
tism that saves, can we be at any loss which it 
is ? — whether the water-baptism of John, or the 
spiritual baptism of Christ ? 

In the infancy of the Christian church, the 
Jewish converts were nearly all " zealous of the 



179 

law" of Moses ; and we have reason to believe 
that it had long been the practice under that law, 
for the converts from heathenism to wash their 
bodies in water, as a sign of purification ; and this 
ceremony being further confirmed by the dispen- 
sation of John the Baptist, it was still retained in 
the infancy of the Christian church; although 
there is no doubt that others besides the apostle 
Paul, saw that it was not essential to the Christian 
dispensation. 

After the apostles and elders of the church were 
removed by death, those who succeeded them 
showed a great disposition to multiply rites and 
ceremonies ; some of which (as historians inform 
us) were adopted from the Mosaic law, and some 
were copied from the heathen festivals, in order 
to ingratiate themselves and recommend their re- 
ligion to the multitude. 

During the earlier ages of the church, water- 
baptism was administered by immersion, and to 
adults only; — -but in after-times, when the doc- 
trine of original sin had been introduced by the 
vain speculations of philosophers, they began to 
baptize infants, in order to wash away the sin 
supposed to be inherited from Adam; and as these 
infants could not answer for themselves, godfathers 
and godmothers were introduced to answer for 
them, and to promise that they should renounce 



180 

the devil and all his works. The sprinkling of 
infants and the promises of godfathers and god- 
mothers, are now considered by the reflecting part 
of the community as mere lifeless ceremonies, 
having no warrant in the scriptures, nor in the 
practice of the primitive church. 

It must be acknowledged, however, that the 
baptism of adults by immersion in water, was 
practised in the days of the apostles ; but it was 
not administered nor commanded by Jesus Christ, 
neither is it a part of his spiritual dispensation ; 
although, like circumcision and other Jewish 
ceremonies, it was permitted to continue for a 
season, and was known among the disciples by 
the name of "John's baptism," which was in- 
tended to decrease as that of Christ should in- 
crease. 

The baptism which saves, is spoken of by the 
apostles as an inward, spiritual washing; "not the 
putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the an- 
swer of a good conscience towards God, by the 
resurrection of Jesus Christ." 1 Pet. iii. 21. — 
" Not by works of righteousness which we have 
done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by 
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of 
the Holy Ghost." Titus iii. 5. "Christ also loved 
the church, and gave himself for it, that he might 
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water 



181 

by the word." Eph. v. 25, 26. " But ye are wash- 
ed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the 
name of the Lord Jesus, and by the spirit of our 
God." 1 Cor. vi. 11. 

I believe there are few intelligent minds in the 
present age and in our country, who will contend 
that any change is produced in the soul by water- 
baptism, or that the favour of God can be secured 
by such a ceremony. How can we suppose that 
a just and merciful Creator would regard with more 
favour an infant whose parents have subjected it 
to this process, than one that had died without it? 
In either case, there can be no merit accruing to 
the infant ; because it exercises no choice in the 
matter, and incurs no responsibility thereby. If, 
therefore, it makes no difference in the case of in- 
fants, dying without baptism, it can make none 
with those adults who believe that water-baptism 
was not commanded by Jesus Christ, nor intend- 
ed to be perpetuated in his church. Such persons 
may safely say of water-baptism, as the apostle 
Paul said of circumcision, "In Christ Jesus nei- 
ther circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncir- 
cumcision, but a new creature." And further- 
more, if we see any of these persons who mani- 
fest by a life and conversation consistent with god- 
liness, that they are servants of the Most High, 
and enjoy his favour ; is not this an evidence that 



182 

he looks only at the heart, and that outward cer- 
emonies are of no avail in securing his approba- 
tion? 

John. This reasoning will apply equally well 
to all outward ceremonies, and especially to that 
of the Lord's supper; yet there appears to be a 
command of our Saviour for the observance of this 
ceremony, where he says, " This do in remem- 
brance of me." 

Father. It is true that he eat the passover with 
his disciples ; but there is no evidence that he in- 
tended it to be perpetuated in the church ; nor is 
there any reason to suppose that he instituted a 
new ceremony on that occasion. He sent two of 
his disciples, saying, " Go into the city to such a 
man and say unto him, I will keep the passover 
at thy house w T ith my disciples." Now we know 
that the paschal lamb which was eaten on this oc- 
casion, was instituted to commemorate the salva- 
tion of the Israelites, when the first-born of the 
Egyptians were slain by the destroying angel. 

This lamb was also a figure of the meek and 
spotless nature of " Christ our passover," — " the 
Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the 
world." As in the outward passover, the blood 
was sprinkled on the door-posts, and they eat 
standing, with their loins girded, as men prepared 



183 

for a journey ; and with the lamb they partook of 
unleavened bread: so with the antitype, the spi- 
ritual body and blood of Christ, which is the life 
and power that dwelt in him, it is only those 
who partake of it that are saved by it ; and we 
must receive it as those who are prepared for a 
journey to the promised land, and with "the un- 
leavened bread of sincerity and truth." (1 Cor. 
v. 8.) 

Previous to this memorable occasion, the Di- 
vine Master had instructed his disciples in the 
nature of that spiritual food which nourishes the 
soul unto everlasting life ; saying, " I am the living 
bread which came down from heaven,' ' " He 
that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, 
dwelleth in me, and I in him." John vi. 51, 56. 
This language offended many who understood it 
literally, — but to his disciples he explained it by 
saying, "The flesh profiteth nothing, it is the spi- 
rit that quickenelh : the words that I speak unto 
you, they are spirit, and they are life." 

James. But may we not suppose that he in- 
tended the bread and wine which were used at 
the last supper, to be perpetuated in the church as 
symbols or figures of his flesh and blood ? for it is 
not only mentioned by the evangelists but by the 
apostle Paul, who says, " I have received of the 
Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That 



184 

the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was be- 
trayed, took bread: and when he had given thanks, 
he brake it, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, 
which is broken for you : this do in remembrance 
of me. After the same manner also he took the 
cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the 
new testament in my blood; this do ye, as oft as 
ye drink it, in remembrance of me: for as often 
as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show 
forth the Lord's death till he come." 1 Cor. xi. 
23-26. 

Father. All the ceremonies of the Mosaic law 
were observed by Jesus Christ ; for that law was 
not abrogated till after his crucifixion. The pass- 
over was one of these ceremonies, and had a more 
immediate reference to himself than any of the 
others. It is not surprising then that lie should, 
while celebrating this feast, endeavour to turn the 
attention of his followers to the spiritual meaning 
of it, by speaking of that bread which comes down 
from heaven and nourishes the soul ; and of that 
wine which he would drink new with them in 
his Father's kingdom. He told them, as oft as 
they eat and drank, to do it in remembrance of 
him, and thereby they would show forth his death 
till he came. But did he not come to them again 
to rule and to reign in them, when, after waiting 
at Jerusalem they were all baptized with the Holy 



185 

Spirit? This was the fulfilment of his promise, 
" I will not leave you comfortless, — I will come 
to you," and "Lo! I am with you alway, even un- 
to the end of the world." This was to them the 
second appearance of Christ. And to every re* 
generated soul he still appears in spirit, and is that 
substance and life which fulfils all the shadows 
and ceremonies of the law, and sets free from 
them. 

Moses, when he gave forth the outward law* 
was exceedingly particular as to the time and man* 
ner in which every ceremony should be perform- 
ed. He also left written directions respecting it, 
and instituted an order of priests and levites to 
perform the service of the altar, and to explain the 
law to the people. 

But when Jesus Christ came to introduce the 
new covenant dispensation, he prescribed no out- 
ward ceremonies, nor did he institute any order 
of priests. Let us read his admirable sermon on 
the mount, which is the clearest exposition we 
have of his doctrines, and we shall find nothing 
there that would lead us to place reliance upon 
rites or ceremonies of any kind. Nothing short 
of purity of heart and uprightness of conduct, can 
render us acceptable with God. When he was 
about to leave his disciples, he told them " to wait 
at Jerusalem until they should be endued with 
17 



186 

power from on high." " For John truly baptized 
with water, but ye shall be baptized with the 

Holy Ghost not many days hence." Acts i. 5. 

" I have many things to say unto you, but ye can- 
not bear them now. Howbeit when he, the spi- 
rit of Truth, is come, he will guide you into all 
truth." John xvi. 12, 13. 

I therefore conclude, that as Jesus Christ "blot- 
ted out the hand-writing of ordinances that was 
against us, which was contrary to us, and took it 
out of the way, nailing it to his cross," Col. ii. 
14, — he did not intend to introduce in its stead 
another ceremonial religion ; but to lead his fol* 
lowers to the spiritual reality of communion with 
God. " We are of the circumcision," said the 
apostle Paul, " who worship God in the spirit, 
and have no confidence in the flesh." 

James. It appears from the history of the 
church, that the supper was celebrated by the 
primitive christians, and the sacrament is still in 
use among almost every portion of the christian 
churches. 

Father. It is true that we have accounts of the 
supper being eaten by the primitive christians ; 
but the ceremony now observed of eating a wafer 
and drinking of wine* is not a supper either as to 
time or form* 



187 

Mosheim informs us, that " both the Asiatic 
churches and those of Rome fasted during the 
great week, (so that was called in which Christ 
died) and afterwards celebrated, like the Jews, a 
sacred feast ; at which they distributed a paschal 
lamb, in memory of the holy supper." The east- 
ern and western churches differed about the time 
and manner of observing this ceremony ; and it 
occasioned many bitter disputes, and much blood- 
shed, after the church became corrupted. If the 
supper which Christ partook of with his disciples, 
and which was imitated by the primitive churches, 
was intended to be observed by succeeding gene- 
rations, who has a right to alter its form, or to 
omit some of its most interesting features, or to 
substitute in its place another ceremony ? Yet it 
has been altered, or entirely changed, by all the 
reformed churches, with the exception of the Me- 
nonists, or United Brethren. 

"When Jesus had celebrated the passover with 
his disciples, " he took a towel and poured water 
into a basin, and began to wash his disciples' 
feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith 
he was girded. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt 
never wash my feet ; Jesus answered him, If I 
wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon 
Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but 
also my hands and my head. Jesus saith unto 



188 

him, He that is washed needeth not, save to wash 
his feet, but is clean every whit ; and ye are clean 
but not all. For he knew who would betray him ; 
therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. So after 
he had washed their feet, and had taken his gar- 
ments and was set down again, he said unto them, 
Know ye what I have done to you ? Ye call me 
Master and Lord, and ye say well, for so I am. 
If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed 
your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's 
feet ; for I have given you an example, that ye 
should do as I have done to you." John xiii. 4 
to 15. 

Now, this part of the ceremony is fully as in- 
structive as the rest, and was even more explicitly 
enjoined upon the disciples ; yet it is entirely 
omitted by nearly the whole of professing Chris- 
tendom. Instead of washing one another's feet, 
they sprinkle a little water in the face, and call it 
baptism ; and instead of eating the paschal lamb 
in the evening, they partake of a wafer in the mid- 
dle of the day. 

James. It appears to me, that if these ceremo- 
nies are to be observed at all, they ought to be 
performed precisely as described in the scriptures ; 
and not only these, but the anointing of the sick, 
and every other ceremony observed by the primi- 
tive christians. We shall be much more excusa- 



189 

ble for considering them all as types, which were 
permitted for a season, but intended to be laid 
aside in the further progress of the church, than 
to select those which are most agreeable to our- 
selves, and to neglect and modify the others. 

Father. There is much allowance to be made 
for the early christians, in their fondness for cer- 
emonial worship. The first converts were chiefly 
Jews, who had been accustomed from their infan- 
cy to the imposing rites of the old law, which had 
been enjoined upon them by the Most High 
through his servant Moses. Although the Mes- 
siah came to fulfil and to abrogate that law, we 
do not find any account in the scriptures, that he 
prohibited the observance of it. But by instruct- 
ing them in the spiritual nature of his kingdom, 
and directing their attention to the teachings of 
the spirit of Truth, which would lead them into 
all truth, he prepared the way for them to come 
out from their " bondage under the elements of 
the world," " that they might receive the adoption 
of sons." Gal. iv. 3, 5. 

In the spiritual appearance of Christ, which is 
the establishment of Divine power in the hearts of 
his people, all the types and shadows of the old 
law and of John's dispensation, are fulfilled. By 
this means the soul becomes purified and " wash- 
ed in the laver of regeneration," " in the name of 



190 

the Lord Jesus, and by the spirit of our God." — 
It also feeds upon the hidden manna, the body 
and blood of Christ, which are the substance and 
the life that come down from heaven, and give 
life to the soul. These can say with the apostle, 
" The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the 
communion of the blood of Christ? the bread 
which we break, is it not the communion of the 
body of Christ? for we, being many, are one 
bread and one body, for we are all partakers of 
that one bread." 1 Cor. x. 16, 17. This can only 
be true of those who become members of that spi- 
ritual body of which Christ is the head. For, as 
in the animal body, every member is animated 
with the same life, and the same blood circulates 
through every part, and supplies nourishment to 
all; so in the spiritual relation, — the members, 
though many, and all partakers of one bread and 
form but one body. " Behold, I stand at the door 
and knock," says Christ: " if any man hear my 
voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, 
and will sup with him, and him with me." Rev. 
iii. 20. This is indeed the banquet of the soul, in 
which the new wine of the kingdom and the 
bread of life, are distributed to nourish the soul 
unto everlasting life. 

I believe there are those among every sect and 
denomination, who come to partake of this spirit 



191 

Hal food ; but many of these are so far influenced 
by education and tradition, as to believe it neces- 
sary for them to observe the typical ceremonies, 
which were instituted in a darker age, and giv- 
en to a superficial people. May we not say to 
these sincere professors, as Paul said to the Gala-* 
tions, "Received ye the spirit by the works of the 
law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? 
having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made per* 
feet by the flesh ?" Gal. iii. 2, 3. " Let no man, 
therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in re- 
spect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the 
sabbath days, — which are a shadow of things to 
come, but the body is of Christ." Col. ii. 16. — 
Let us consider whether we have not a testimony 
to bear against many of those outward rites and 
ceremonies, which may have been instituted as 
signs of a gospel day to come: — but if that day has 
come, or if the " night is far spent, and the day is 
at hand," let us prepare ourselves to turn away 
from the shadows, and walk in the light, that we 
may be "children of the light and of the day" of 
pure gospel substance. 



THE END. 



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